Expectations
by aerococonut
Summary: A sweet, romantic novelist. The debonair, -ever popular with the ladies- Dark user… Follow Shauntal as she discovers just how different real life romance is from her novels! ShauntalXGrimsley
1. Mortified

Alrighty, no, I haven't stopped writing _Learning_, and I apologize for being slack with the next chapter, bit I got sidetracked by these two: Shauntal and Grimsley are just an awesome couple. One's a sweet, romantic novelist; the other is a womanizing manwhore with a permanent 'I'm-gonna-rape-you' face. I was fiddling around with this idea for a while, and I just love it to bits, I can't stop writing about them. This is just my interpretation of the characters and how their relationship would progress.

Title is based off the picture I drew that inspired it all. See my profile for the link if you're interested. I also update my profile with my current story status, so if you ever want to know where my latest chapters are at, I suggest you go have a look there. Anyways, hopefully you enjoy my foray into the mind of Shauntal!

**Expectations**

...

I was in my Room, the main building given to each member of the Elite Four. We had other rooms, of course, but the Room was where we took on challengers wishing to claim the Championship. I was happily sorting out my new purchases, placing all the books in their proper places. My beloved Chandelure floated over to investigate what I was doing. She'd been my best friend since I'd been a young girl, and she only a tiny Litwick.

"Look, Chandelure! I got the newest _Luvdisc Hearts_ novel, as well as a book by Lora Lai!" I loved immersing myself into the world of books. I had thousands in my collection. I loved my romance novels the most; I guess you could say they were my guilty pleasures. I adored the passionate, all-consuming love of people portrayed in my favourite series, like _Luvdisc Hearts_. Of course, I enjoyed lots of different genres –a good novelist always tries to branch out- but my favourites would always be the romances.

It's a little embarrassing to say, but the majority of my work is in the deep end of romance. I spent most of my time dreaming up my dark, handsome, and yes, _sexy_ heroes, and then deliver him to my heroine for a night (or nights!) of unbridled, wild, passion.

Oh dear, I'm blushing again. You'd think I would be used to it, but I can't help myself. I guess you could say I live through my characters. I always dream of the day a dashing gentleman will sweep me off my feet. I don't know when exactly it will happen, but I can hope it will be soon.

_Chrrrriiiinnn,_ Chandelure said, floating next to my head. I gently ran a finger down the black iron-like stems that were her arms. She hummed softly, telling me she liked that.

"It'll happen someday," I sighed wistfully, as she bobbed up and down. Sometimes, the others found it strange how I tended to tell my Pokemon everything, but to me they were my closest confidantes. I liked talking to the other three Elite Four members, but Caitlin was usually wrapped up in her own problems (she believed the world revolved around her happiness), Marshal preferred to fight all the time, he usually challenged me to a battle before he'd talk to me, and Grimsley...

Grimsley made me act like a flustered schoolgirl. I always stuttered around him and usually ended up embarrassing myself. I couldn't help it; he oozed charm, and acted very suave towards everything female.

I suppose you could say a few of my male characters look like Grimsley...but it's not true. Not really. Well, alright, there may be one or two who would remind you of a debonair Elitist (our word for ourselves).

I...will admit here and now that I _may_ have a _slight_ uhh...infatuation with Grimsley. I know it will never go anywhere, however. I'm not that naive. I've seen him enter his room with a different lady pretty much every night. Marshal calls him a 'manwhore', which, while fitting, is a bit rude. Caitlin always _hmmphs_ when he says that, and tells Marshal to stop being 'so uncouth'. I usually don't say much of anything in our group meetings.

Caitlin runs through her day, Marshal gives a play-by-play of his latest –and greatest, of course- fight, and Grimsley...never seems to care, he's always looking off into the distance. Probably wondering who he's taking to bed that night.

No, Shauntal, stop being so silly. What he does at night is his own business. Go and finish your next chapter, instead of sighing after a man who isn't interested.

I glanced at myself in the mirror, and felt a pang of sadness. The woman I saw looking back at me was skinny, her short purple hair cut in a severe style that framed her face, the bangs at the front levelled at the top of her eyes. A large pair of glasses perched on her nose, taking up half of her face and framing her large, dark eyes. Her deep purple shawl flared out and stood up at the back, making her look like some strange Pokemon, and her light purple dress gave her a young-girl look. The overall effect was pretty...dorky. And purple. It was my favourite colour, but still.

I felt suddenly awkward, turning away from the mirror. I knew I wasn't really pretty, but I barely looked like a woman at all, since my breasts were quite small and my hips made me look like a young girl. I have actually been mistaken for a young girl in the past, instead of the twenty-two year old woman I was supposed to be.

I sniffed, feeling a wave of emotion sweep over me.

"Not going to cry," I said, biting my lower lip. I felt a tear run down my cheek, and fled to my bedroom. "It's not fair," I sobbed into my pillow. Chandelure had sensed my distress and followed me, offering her form of comfort. "Thank you," I told her, as she hovered quietly in the corner. I sniffed, wiping away the traces of my distress. "I'm fine," I said firmly, changing into my nightdress and brushing my hair.

I lay curled up in my bed until I eventually fell asleep.

...

"And then she moaned, the feel of his tongue against hers sending shivers down her spine," I said out loud, writing it down into my notebook. I'd woken up feeling better, and had finished my chapter. Now I was writing the next one, but it was being difficult. "What do you think, Jellicent?" I asked her. She'd been there when I'd woken up, and hadn't moved since. My Pokemon were well in tune with my moods, and often did what they could to make me feel better. Jellicent didn't say anything, so I left it as it was. I could always come back and change it later.

I loaded up my laptop, rereading the previous chapter.

Pulling up the email screen, I typed in Cynthia's address and wrote a quick message.

The Champion of the Sinnoh region had visited about four months ago, having gotten the urge to go adventuring. As natural for Champions, she had come here and immediately challenged Alder to a match. We Elitists had watched eagerly, assuming Alder would win. After all, he'd been reigning Champion of Unova for a few years.

We were awestruck when Cynthia swept his Pokemon aside like a gorgeous, blonde tornado. She'd beaten him flawlessly. Not to mention she was a great sport, thanking Alder for a fun match and then coming over to talk with us. We'd started talking about books at some point, and I'd ended up showing her some of mine.

She'd gushed over them, and immediately demanded copies of everything. I signed them all for her, feeling ridiculous, but Cynthia had been pleased. At some point, I'd gotten stuck on a chapter and sent it to her to see if she could suggest some ideas. She'd given me tons of feedback, and so now I sent her my finished chapters in advance, for critique and comments.

I pressed send and then closed down my laptop. I prefer to write out my stories by hand, and then chapter by chapter type them up. It was easier to carry a notebook around.

I picked up my notebook and moved back into my Room. We hadn't had any challengers call, but I liked being near all my books.

A sudden knock at the door gave me a fright.

"Yes?" I said, opening it. I nearly dropped my notebook. "G-Grimsley!" I took a couple of steps back, not quite cowering behind the door. He gave me a strange look, but nodded towards me.

"Hello Shauntal," he greeted me, ever polite. "Err...I don't wish to interrupt you, but I'm...quite bored," he said, sounding ever-so-slightly sheepish. "Caitlin suggested I borrow a book from you," I wasn't sure how to react. Granted, I had more books than anyone else, but surely Grimsley had his own collection?

"Uhh...s-sure," I moved aside, letting him inside.

"Thank you," he said, grinning crookedly. I froze, unable to do anything but stare at him. The grin faded; he must have thought there was something wrong with me. "How are your books arranged?" he asked, sighing. "What genres do you have?"

I stammered out something about history being in front of him, and moved quickly towards my study as he looked interestedly at the shelves.

"J-just feel free to browse that area. T-the others are mostly r-romance," I fled, all but slamming the door behind me.

Smooth, Shauntal. Now he definitely thinks you have problems. I sighed to myself. Why couldn't I just act normal around him?

A thought struck me. What if he read _my_ novels? I had a small collection off to the side with nothing but my stories in it. And since most of them were the kinds of 'smutty' novels only women read... I rested my head against the table in horror.

Please, please, please let him pick something that _isn't_ going to embarrass me for all time.

I tentatively peeked out from behind the door.

"Oh, Shauntal!" I squeaked at suddenly finding Grimsley standing outside, his hand raised to knock on the door. "My apologies. I just wanted to ask...are these your novels?" I opened the door enough to see him holding a couple of mine.

"Y-yes," I felt my cheeks turning red. "They're my...romance series," I all but whispered, looking down. "That's the first one," I pointed to _Dark Wings_.

"Fascinating. I knew you wrote novels, but I didn't know anything about them. Do you mind if I read them?" I shook my head helplessly.

"O-of course not," I hurriedly bit my lip before I could bury myself any further. Idiot! I should have said I did mind. Which I did, actually. I couldn't explain it, but there was a part of me that was nervous to show my fantasy world to him. I know that sounds stupid, especially since I have quite a large fan base, but that's just how I felt.

"Thank you. You've saved me from an afternoon of boredom," Grimsley smiled, looking at me. When I didn't say anything, he sighed and turned away. "I will show myself out," he said, walking quickly over to the door.

"Oh, here," I ran over, opening it for him. "Uhh...j-just bring it back whenever," I mumbled, not meeting his gaze.

"Very well," I closed the door behind him. I think I may have offended him with my rudeness. In hindsight, it _was_ quite rude of me to run away. I just couldn't handle being near him, though.

I slid down the door, resting my chin on my knees.

"Couldn't he pick _any_ other book? I should burn all of mine," I cursed. I never would though; my books were all a part of me. I tried to remember if there was anything too crazy in _Dark Wings._ "I...don't think there's anything _too_ bad in that one. I kind of started out tame," I attempted to reassure myself, but it wasn't working. I could remember all too well what I'd written, and it was one up-and-down whirlwind of temptation, lust and sex.

"I'll never be able to face him again!" I wailed, summoning Jellicent. "Oh no, I'm fine sweetheart," I told her when she hummed questioningly. "Just...mortified beyond all belief," I finished, burying my head in my hands.

…

What do you think? I've already written the next two chapters, if you guys are interested, I'll keep updating this story. Either that, or I swear I'll go and update _Learning_ instead. Thanks for reading!

-Aerococonut


	2. Absorbed

So I lied. I was going to finish the next chapter of _Learning_ before I submitted this, but I decided to change my mind, contrary creature that I am. I swear though, _Learning_ will be updated soon! In the meantime, enjoy more of Shauntal's world. Exploring the Elite Four is so much fun. They're barely mentioned in Black/White, so it's great to be able to invent my own version of their world.

…

**Expectations**

It was another hour before I was willing to move, and that was only because I was too hungry to hide in my Room any longer.

"Okay, lunch," I clutched my stomach as it rumbled. "Sounds like a plan," I told Jellicent. She waved an arm, and I left.

I didn't meet any of the others on the way to the restaurant where we often ate, but Caitlin was sitting inside when I got there.

"Can I join you?" I asked, standing with my hands behind my back. We Elitists are usually quite formal with each other. I would say it's a form of respect. Except for Marshal, who doesn't care at all about etiquette, and Alder, who is usually absent. Caitlin always acts like the lady she is, and Grimsley speaks very refined most of the time as well. Not that I really talk to him.

"That would be pleasant," Caitlin indicated the chair opposite her. "I was craving companionship," Her entree arrived, and I ordered my meal before the waiter vanished. The Pokemon League has a large amount of people under its employ, even though there are only five people who take challenges. There aren't many who are aware of that fact, and we often get amazed questions from challengers.

We chatted about various things until our meals arrived. I'd just ordered a basic sandwich, not really in the mood for gourmet food at the moment. Although one of the characters in my current book enjoys gourmet food; perhaps I should have ordered something different for research? Oh well, the moment of opportunity had passed.

Caitlin sighed suddenly, a forlorn look gracing her beautiful features.

"What's wrong?" I asked, not used to seeing her act anything other than calm and detached.

"I miss Darach," she said, looking down.

"Darach?" I'd never heard the name, and it interested me. Was he her boyfriend? Lover? Childhood friend lost years ago? The novelist part of me perked up immediately.

"My servant," Well, that makes sense...I suppose. "I... like him," she said in a low voice.

"Well, that's normal, I mean why would you have servants you didn't like?" I grinned at her silliness.

"I _like, _like him," Caitlin murmured.

I blinked and sat up straight. Unbelievable! Okay, that was definitely interesting. And unexpected.

"And that's against the rules, right?" I didn't know a lot about my fellow Elitist, but I knew Caitlin was a proper lady from another region, had lived in a castle battle-area, and seemed to be emotionless most of the time. She preferred to hide away all her feelings, leaving her unruffled for her battles.

"Yes," Caitlin moaned, pouting slightly.

"Is he your lover?" ...Yes, I can be blunt at times. The novelist in me seeks out stories relentlessly, and I was always researching for my books.

"Shauntal! That's quite rude!" I smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, I know," I apologized, not wanting to offend her any more.

"In any case, no he isn't. I never actually admitted I felt anything for him. And when the opportunity arose for me to come here, he was encouraging. Almost as if he wanted me to leave," she looked slightly downhearted.

"Never!" I exclaimed, standing up and slamming a hand down on the table. "He was just trying to be supportive! No doubt he wished you would stay by his side, but could never compromise his position by admitting how he felt! The only thing he could do was let you go, off to where he couldn't follow!" My imagination was on fire, my mind spinning a wondrous tale of forbidden love lost and found, lovers separated by station and distance.

"Shauntal!" Caitlin leaned backwards, mild disgust on her face. "Must you shriek so loud? I do not appreciate having my personal life shouted to the world, thank you very much," I sat down quickly. She was right, but sometimes I couldn't help the flow of ideas. I was definitely going to go start writing some of this down; I was already plotting out storylines.

"You're right, I'm sorry Caitlin. Forgive me?" I blinked when I noticed the faint blush on her cheeks. Apparently this man really meant something to her, if he'd managed to get past her walls.

"Hmph. I know you cannot help it sometimes. I forgive you," I beamed at her.

"Hey, you don't mind if I use some of these ideas in my next story, do you?" I asked suddenly.

"As long as it isn't recognizable as me, that should be fine," I clapped my hands together happily, spinning around.

"Great! I have to go write that down now! Thank you for sharing lunch with me," I called back to Caitlin, before dashing back to my Room. I probably should have stayed and offered more reassurance or at least listened, but like I said, the novelist in me will not be ignored.

I eagerly grabbed a fresh notebook from my large supply and started writing.

Night had long ago fallen by the time I emerged from my fantasy world, blinking when I looked at the clock.

"Holy...wow I had no idea it was so late!" Chandelure _chhhrrrr_-ed from the corner. She was laughing at me, but I didn't mind. My new story was taking shape; I'd created most of my main characters and started to set the scenes.

I decided that I absolutely couldn't live without eating something. Fortunately we have a phone used for the express purpose of ordering meals when we didn't want to eat at the restaurant.

Perfect for novelists who get sidetracked by their stories a lot.

I called up for Room service (another Elitist inside joke) and asked them to bring me whatever the special was that night, since I didn't really want to stop writing.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and I raced over to get it. You can imagine how surprised I was to find Grimsley standing outside instead of the waiter.

"Uhh, since when have you been a waiter?" I asked without thinking, and almost died on the spot. Shauntal you ditz. Control yourself!

Grimsley blinked, a bit taken aback by my sudden statement.

"I am not a waiter," he raised an eyebrow and handed me something. I looked down to find my book.

"Are you finished already?" I was amazed, he must have been reading pretty much non-stop to have finished already.

"Yes, it was very absorbing, and well written," he said, surprising me. "May I borrow the next one?" I went over and picked it up, handing it to him wordlessly, amazed and confused that he actually liked my books. And he didn't even question me about anything that was in them!

"_Unrequited?"_ he asked, seeming amused. I was a little worried about his reactions, but nodded anyway.

"Uhh, y-yes. Umm..." A voice from behind him saved me from further stupidity.

"Delivery for Miss Shauntal?"

"Yes!" I cried gratefully, my voice rather high pitched. I grabbed the plate and retreated back into the room. "Uhh, goodnight Grimsley," I didn't quite slam the door, but it was close. I felt slightly guilty, it was hardly fair of me to behave so badly, but it was almost an instinctive need to escape.

I munched on a bite of fish, scribbling down lines as I ate.

I ended up abandoning the rest of my meal as storylines began to twist and turn. I was riveted; this was my favourite part of story writing, admiring all of the possibilities, choosing what paths my characters would follow...

By the time I stopped writing, my clock proclaimed it to be...ridiculously early in the morning. I yawned, deciding that maybe I should get some sleep before I collapsed.

_Chrrrr chrrrr,_ Chandelure gave her version of a chuckle, floating around the window as I yawned again.

"Night," I mumbled, falling into bed.

...

By the time I finally woke up, it was past midday. I wasn't hungry enough to leave, so I rolled over and grabbed my notebook and pen, deciding that since I was in a good mood, I would keep writing.

Chandelure floated in at one point, as did Jellicent, but I was too focussed on my book to pay much attention. I eventually called for dinner, once again choosing to stay in my room while I ate. I hadn't really left my bed since I'd woken up barring bathroom breaks and calling for dinner. Hmm, maybe I should get a phone installed in my bedroom for times like this? It would make life easier when I was trapped in my imagination.

I checked my emails while I ate, giggling when I saw Cynthia's response. She's praised the latest chapter, cursed me because I left a slight cliffhanger, "drooled" -her words, I swear- on her keyboard reading the "spicy sex scenes". I couldn't help snickering happily and typing a quick thank you back to her.

I finished eating and turned off my laptop, choosing to save power. I was still plotting out my new story, so I didn't need my laptop anytime soon. It wasn't that I'd abandoned my other story; I just wanted to work on this one while the ideas were fresh.

The characters were so vivid in my mind, the scenes so exciting and interesting that I couldn't _not_ write about them. However, I was pretty sure I was going to have to do some research shortly, to accurately portray the settings I had decided to use, and that would slow down my writing for a little while.

I was awake until about four in the morning writing. I'd finally started to map out the first couple of chapters, and they were coming along nicely. Beginnings are very important for novels; they set up the entire book to follow.

I yawned and placed my notebook onto my bedside table, before switching off the lights. If I kept this up, I was going to end up nocturnal.

It was even later the next afternoon by the time I dragged myself out of bed. A look at my clock showed that it was nearly dinner time. I decided that it might be a good idea to actually show up for dinner. The other members of the Elite Four might have news. Not that a lot happened around here, we didn't get challengers very often.

I got dressed and brushed my messy hair out, before making my way to the Elite restaurant, trying not to yawn.

"Shauntal!" Marshal called, waving at me when I entered. All three of the others were there, sitting at a table against the back wall, next to the curtained window. "Heeeeey!" I sat down next to Caitlin, across from Marshal and Grimsley in the chair closest to the window.

"We thought you'd disappeared," Caitlin informed me, a slight curving of her lips indicating she was teasing me.

"Hehe, sorry about that. I got so involved with this new story that I've been staying up really late. Then I sleep in so much that it's pretty much night again before I get up," I tucked my hair behind my ears.

"Jeez, Shauntal! What would have happened if we'd needed you? I came by to announce a new challenger –who thankfully was beaten before we needed you-, but you didn't answer, Caitlin wanted to ask you something, and Grimsley tried to return your book, but you ignored all of us! For all we knew, something might have happened to you!"

I looked down at the table. "It hasn't been that long," I flicked the table's edge. "It's not like you missed me, or I was needed or anything. So what if I wanted to stay in my room? It was, what? Only three days, hardly important."

"Don't be silly, Shauntal," Caitlin said, waving dismissively. A waiter came past and I ordered another sandwich. "We enjoy your company,"

I didn't respond, brushing my hair behind my ear. There was an awkward silence broken only by Marshal and Caitlin's meals arriving. I stared off into the distance, ignoring their conversations. My mind returned to my characters, as I thought about how to begin the first chapter. Have her standing on the beach, maybe? I was thinking about setting it in a large port town, with massive ships sailing in and out, bustling markets and a very festive overall feel. I would set the scene during late afternoon, with a beautiful sunset that she would admire.

I didn't notice the others trying to get my attention until Marshal's hand snapped in front of my face.

"Earth to Shauntal!" I flinched and rocked backwards.

"Huh?" I said fuzzily, unwilling to return to the real world.

"Shauntal, you're such a ditz. We've been talking to you for the past five minutes!" Marshal exclaimed, as Caitlin shook her head.

"What were you thinking about?" Grimsley asked curiously, his gaze studying my face. I looked away, trying to hide my sudden flushed cheeks.

"Uhh...j-just...planning out parts of my new s-story," I mumbled, biting my lip.

"Fascinating. It's terribly interesting to see an author put her stories together," he smiled, resting his head against a hand. I immediately averted my eyes, staring at the table instead.

"...It's not that interesting," I whispered. "I stare into space and daydream," I found it easier to talk to him if I wasn't looking in his direction.

"Even so," he responded easily, as if staring into space was actually exciting to watch.

"So, what were you daydreaming about then?" Caitlin asked, something resembling mischief in her eyes.

"Uhh, nothing much," I shrugged, wishing they would drop the subject. Until Grimsley had started reading them, none of the Elitists had ever read any of my books. I was...sort of a private person. I was happy to share my finished works, but I was very awkward when it came to allowing people to know about the stories before they were completed. Even the chapters I sent to Cynthia were very nearly finished.

"Doesn't sound that way to me, hmm?" Marshal smirked at me. I was beginning to get a bad feeling about this. Why the sudden interest in my novels? "There must be something good going on in your mind,"

"No, not really. I was just thinking about how my main characters would meet," There, that was safe and boring. Maybe they would change the subject now.

"Oh ho, what about just throwing them together for a romp under the sheets?" Marshal leered at me. I gasped.

I hadn't seen that coming at all.

"I mean, come on! Grimsley was just telling us about all the steamy love scenes in your book, share the secret!" I glared, taking in the expressions of the other two. Caitlin's lips were tilted up slightly in her version of a smirk, and Grimsley looked like he wanted to hit something. "Oh c'mon Shauntal, you really had us going! We thought you were all innocent and sweet, but _damn_ girl, you got a dirty mind," Marshal laughed, kicking back in his chair.

I felt my face go bright red. "I will write whatever I so choose to!" I clenched my fist on my leg.

"So who's your boyfriend? Sorry, _lover_. He had to be pretty damn good for you to write those kinds of sex scenes!"

I stood up in a hurry, pushing my chair back in a huff.

"None of your business, you jerks!" I shrieked, moving backwards. The leg of my chair got caught in the draping curtains and yanked it forwards.

There was a horrible screeching sound as the curtain rod broke free from its rest on the wall.

I stood frozen in horror, as the curtain rod seemed to descend in slow motion, aimed directly at me.

There was a terrible cracking sound a second before excruciating pain that shot through me from my forehead.

And then everything went black.

...

_Shauntal...Shauntal!_

_I heard a voice calling me._

_Shauntal! Can you hear me? A different voice asked a second after the first. _

_Yes, I tried to say, but the word stuck in my throat. _

_Shauntal! This voice sounded worried, and I wondered what had happened to make it sound so afraid._

_I'm here, I'm all right! I was starting to panic. I couldn't feel anything, couldn't see anything. _

_Where am I? _

_Shauntal, please... the third voice begged. Please wake up..._

_I tried to answer, but no sound emerged from my throat._

_Help...I cried silently, to no avail._

_Please..._

_I felt myself starting to drift, and closed my eyes._

_Shauntal...please..._

_Wake up..._

_..._

Gasp! I know, poor Shauntal. Don't worry, she'll be fine, I swear. Stay tuned for my next updates!

-Aerococonut


	3. Relieved

Hi guys, you get an update because I love you. The next chapter might take me a bit longer, though. Thank you to everyone who has left me a lovely review, and for adding this story to your favourites/alerts, I really appreciate it. Shauntal and Grimsley need more love, badly.In the meantime, hopefully I can help fill the gap that FFnet has regarding these two.

**...**

**Expectations**

_Three days later_

"Unghh..." I moaned pitifully as lances of pain shot through me.

"Shauntal?" I felt pressure on my hands. I tried to open my eyes to see who it was, but my head hurt so bad I immediately abandoned the attempt. "Shauntal? Can you hear me?"

"Mmm..." What had I done to cause this much pain? I couldn't move, could barely breathe, and my voice was almost non-existent.

"We're sorry, so sorry! We didn't mean to offend you, we're so sorry!" The voice was imploring, while a strong pressure gripped my arm.

"Shauntal, it's all right. Everything will be all right, this I promise you," This was a different voice, and my mind finally indentified it as female. "Just rest up, sweetie. You've got a bad injury, but you'll be alright if you get some rest," I felt a small prick of pain in my hand.

This sounded like good advice, so I let my mind drift back into the darkness.

...

"I'm telling you, she woke up!" Marshal's voice said angrily. "It was only for a little bit, but she did! She moaned and her eyes fluttered!" I was starting to regain my thoughts. Memories of the accident started coming back. I remembered the argument, the rod hitting me in the forehead, and hearing voices earlier. I supposed this meant I was getting better, even though there was still numbness throughout my body.

"I swear, Marshal, if you're lying..." Huh. That was Grimsley's voice, but it was low and threatening. I'd never heard him speak like that before.

"It's true, damnit! Ask the nurse, she shot her with the knockout drug!" There was a hiss of pain, although I couldn't identify whose it was. I couldn't seem to make my body work properly, although I wanted to reassure them, as they sounded worried.

"Why was she put unconscious again?" Grimsley asked.

"She would be in a lot of pain, dear. Better to let her body rest and recover as much as it can on its own, although she's so tiny that the painkiller probably won't last long; I couldn't give her a full dosage without risking her body. Her wound is healing well, but we don't know how her mind will fare. Head injuries are very hard to predict."

"But she woke up! That's a good thing, right?" That was Marshal questioning.

"It's better not to rush these things. Let her rest some more." I vaguely recognized this as the female voice from before. Perhaps she was the nurse?

"I understand that, but she has been asleep for _three days!_" Grimsley seemed really irate for some reason. Part of me was vaguely interested in why his usual composure seemed to be missing. The other part just wanted to go back to oblivion. Until Grimsley's words penetrated the fuzz surrounding my mind.

_Three days?_ I've been asleep for _three days_?

"I swear, you four are the most impatient people I've ever met!" the nurse said exasperatedly. Four? Who was the fourth person?

"Is she really awake?" Caitlin's voice called, sounding more emotional than I've ever heard. "Oh Shauntal, forgive me!" Caitlin wailed –wailed!- as I felt something lay across my chest. "We didn't mean to hurt you, I swear! We, we were just..." she sniffed, as the weight disappeared, only to reappear across my arm. A hand squeezed my other arm, and gentle fingers stroked my cheek.

I slowly opened my eyes, to find Caitlin resting her head across my arm, Marshal squeezing my other arm, and Grimsley...

...Was staring at me with a shocked expression.

"Shauntal?" he breathed, like he wasn't sure I was really awake.

"Mmm?" I blinked, flinching a little at the bright light.

"Shauntal!" Caitlin and Marshal both leaned forward, until I began to feel a little claustrophobic. They must have noticed, because they moved back a little, but still close enough to watch me. The attention was starting to make me feel self-conscious.

"...Hi," I rasped, my voice sounding like it was being scraped against sandpaper. They all tried to speak at once, apologizing and reassuring me. I scrunched up my face, unable to focus on all of them speaking at once.

"Stop bombarding her! Leave the poor dear alone," the female voice huffed, and I looked over to see an older woman standing in the doorway. I realized that I was in a hospital, wearing nothing but a light sundress, the kind I enjoyed wearing in the summer. "How are you feeling, Miss Shauntal?"

I thought about her question. I mostly felt numb- most likely from the painkillers she'd given me earlier- a little dizzy, and I wished she would turn off the light.

"Mmm..kind of numb." I answered truthfully, hating how weak my voice sounded. My eyes fluttered closed again. I heard a couple of gasps, and a hand immediately touched my own.

"Relax you three! For being members of the Elite Four, you fall to pieces at the slightest thing! She needs _rest!_ It's her body's way of recovering, so be _quiet!_" I was beginning to get the feeling that she was annoyed at them.

"Mmm'kay." I couldn't seem to open my eyes again.

"She's right. Shauntal?" Grimsley said quietly. "Go back to sleep, we'll be here when you wake up again."

I nodded slightly and smiled. I may have been asleep for three days, but rest still sounded good.

...

"Well I'm sick to death of being in hospital." I snapped, causing Caitlin to flinch at my poor choice of words. "Sorry." I looked at my hands, where they were lying interlocked in my lap. I'd finally recovered enough to be able to sit up a few days ago, and the wound itself was healed, though I had a lovely pink mark on my forehead (thankfully my bangs cover it!). Now I was just waiting for the hospital to release me. My bedside table was covered in flowers. There was a bunch from the other three, a massive one from Alder (he'd come to see me while I was still asleep- turns out he was the fourth person she'd been referring to the other day-), and a large bunch of flowers that Cynthia had sent me. I thought that was really nice of her, although a part of me wondered how the heck she'd known.

"I brought another book for you." Caitlin handed me a bag. I thanked her as she placed it on my bedside table. I'd already read thirteen books in the time I'd been awake. After I'd woken up again, they said I would have to wait almost another week before they would release me, on account of mine being a head injury. Apparently the others had all told the hospital not to release me until I was "completely healthy", which was why I was still here, nine days after I'd woken up, instead of the six the nurse had promised me. My head felt fine, I didn't even feel dizzy anymore, and I could stand on my own without falling over.

"I'd prefer to get out of here, please?" Caitlin shook her head and I sighed. How long did I have to be stuck in here? It was coming up to two weeks since the stupid accident. What a waste of a fortnight. My publisher was going to kill me.

"Not until you're better," she proclaimed, waving her hand.

"I'm fine! Seriously Caitlin, I'll be happier at home. I promise I won't do anything strenuous or difficult; I just want to be home. Please?" I gave her the 'puppy dog' eyes. It seemed to work, as Caitlin sighed and summoned a nurse.

"Would Shauntal be allowed to leave soon?" she asked in an authoritarian tone. Sometimes Caitlin just can't help herself.

"My dear, she can leave whenever she feels ready, I told you that this morning." Caitlin looked at me with something resembling sheepishness in her eyes.

"Umm..." I glared at her.

"Well _thanks_ so much, Caitlin, for sharing that with me. I would just _love_ to go home!" Yes, I can be quite sarcastic at times. I'm not always a nice and sweet person. I try to treat others well, but just like everyone, I will eventually get annoyed.

"Don't be so waspish, Shauntal! We are just worried about your health." Caitlin huffed, back to her usual self. She got up and grabbed my clothes from their bag in the corner. "I suppose you wish to get dressed now?" She handed me the bag and turned her back.

"I'm hardly going to change in front of you," I muttered.

"Fine, be difficult. I will wait outside the door for you," She said snidely, walking outside. I moved into the small bathroom and took off the sundress. Putting on my own clothes felt amazing, in an incredibly pathetic way, but I was just grateful to be leaving. I'd never really been in hospitals before, and had never realized just how boring they were.

I walked out to stand next to Caitlin, a massive smile on my face.

"Let's get out of this place!" I stretched my arms above my head, revelling in the feeling of freedom.

"You have to sign out first," Caitlin said petulantly. I shrugged and filled out the paperwork. It took a grand total of two minutes, and I was out of there.

We arrived at the entrance to Pokemon League a couple of hours later.

"Home at last." I breathed in, flinging my arms above my head in happiness.

"Shauntal!" Marshal ran up to us, grabbing me and spinning around.

"Uhh, hi," I said, a little dizzily from the sudden movement.

"Take it easy," Grimsley ordered, appearing from somewhere behind Marshal. "Welcome back, Shauntal." They all smiled at me, and I couldn't help grinning in response. I may not get along with them all the time, or share my secrets with them, but they still cared about me. My eyes started to tear up.

"Thanks guys," I sniffed.

Caitlin took my hand and Marshal slung his arm over my shoulder, and together we all walked back inside.

Alder was sitting in the front 'waiting area' I suppose you could call it. It was the area where challengers waited if we were unavailable, anyways.

"Shaunie!" He leapt up, placing both his hands on my shoulders. "How are you feeling?" he scrutinized my face closely.

"I'm fine now." I reassured him. Alder had been best friends with my parents, so he kind of looked out for me. Even when I claimed I could take care of myself, he reminded me of the times when I'd tripped over and hurt myself as a child. He was also the only person who called me 'Shaunie', my old childhood nickname.

"You gave me a heart attack." He straightened up, frowning at me. I always felt guilty whenever he acted disappointed in me. I guess that's reasonable, I've known him since I was eleven.

"Sorry." I looked down. See? Unreasonable guilt. It wasn't my fault and I _still _feel like I've let him down.

"Don't do it again," he demanded, ruffling my hair. I poked my tongue out in one of my more juvenile moments. "That's my girl," he laughed.

"I'm surprised to see you back again, Alder," I told him. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. We all knew he disliked being here, and his occasional return usually prompted some form of celebration. We acted as guardians, and we were very good at our job. It's why we'd only had to call him back a handful of times to face challengers in the two years I've been a member of the Elite Four. If a challenger couldn't get past us, they couldn't fight Alder, which left him free to wander as he pleased.

"Well, when I return to visit and find one of my Elite Four is in a _coma_," he shook his head. "Let's just say I decided to stick around. Shaunie, we were worried sick about you." I scuffed the floor with the tip of my shoe.

"I didn't do it on purpose," I muttered, feeling like a child. "And I'm fine now, I promise." Alder grinned.

"I know. And even if you weren't you wouldn't admit it, Shaunie." I placed a hand on my hip and flicked my hair back in a dramatic way. "I'm sure you'll be just fine." He stood up. "In which case, I guess my presence isn't required anymore."

"Hell no, man, we like having you around." Marshal spoke up suddenly. "I was hoping we could train." Alder was his mentor, so it made sense that he wished to train with him. Since Alder wasn't around very often, Marshal often only had a small amount of time with him.

"I guess I could maybe stick around for a few days. Not too long, though." We all nodded. As our Champion, and as a person, we all looked up to Alder. Since he was the oldest, it made sense, but he was also close to us all as friends.

I thought I would mention that so that it explains why we basically attack him whenever he returns.

"Great! Let's go!" Marshal pumped the air. Alder smirked and started walking towards the largest of our courtyards.

"See you later, I guess." He waved as they walked off.

"Hey, Grimsley, you should come too! It's been ages since we battled last." Marshal laughed. Grimsley narrowed his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

"Fine. But don't cry when I beat you," he called, nodding goodbye to us.

"What do you want to do now, Shauntal?" Caitlin asked, looking at me. I held up the bag of books, clothes and what-have-you I'd collected in my time at the hospital.

"Perhaps putting this away might be a good idea. And then maybe go lie around with my Pokemon, so they know I'm back." I'd felt terrible for leaving my Pokemon worrying, but Caitlin had told me they'd explained the situation, so my Pokemon knew why I wasn't around.

"Okay, I will be in my Room if you need me. Do not hesitate to call if something happens." Caitlin promised, before disappearing down the corridor to her Room. I was glad the others were giving me time to myself.

I opened my door to find four overeager Pokemon standing and hovering there.

"Hi everyone." I opened my arms as they all moved around me in a Ghostly whirlwind. I giggled when they brushed my hair. "I missed you too." I told them, earning a multitude of hums and other noises in response.

After about half an hour, they had finally believed me when I said I was fine, and left me go to do their own things. I started placing my thirteen new books in their places.

A knock at the door startled me.

"You can come in!" Since our Rooms were where we took on challengers, the doors were always unlocked. Most challengers didn't bother knocking, they just entered. It was really only us Elitists who knocked.

I placed a book on the shelf and turned to find Grimsley standing there.

"Oh, hi!" I wished I could say something halfway decent around him.

"I am just returning your book." He handed it to me, looking slightly...nervous. I wondered what was throwing off his usual perfect composure.

I looked down. "...Thank you. You could have brought it back whenever, you know. I don't mind if you want to just come in and grab something to read. Challengers enter whenever they want; it's only fair that a fellow Elitist can as well. Especially if I'm not around." I grimaced as a memory of being hit in the head suddenly struck me. He didn't say anything, and I snuck a glance up at him. He was studying me intensely, his eyes searching my face. I immediately looked away, biting my lip, my mind searching for something to say. "Oh! You want the next one, don't you?" I said, grateful for the excuse to look away. I walked over and pulled it out. All of the books in my Room were organized by series and author, in case I needed a reference from a particular book in a hurry. "Here you go." I gave it to him. He gave me a strange look, like he couldn't believe what I was doing.

"Thank you," he opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it again without saying anything.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, worried. Grimsley just stared at me, a pained expression on his face.

"I just..." he looked away for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "I'm so sorry, Shauntal." He turned back to me, agony in his eyes. "Do you have any idea how terrible I feel that you were hurt? If I'd just kept my mouth shut, none of this would have happened. When Marshal asked what your books were about, I didn't even think, I just said it. I'm so sorry, this is all my fault." He rested his head against his hand.

"Relax, Grimsley," I sighed. "I'm fine, so stop with the guilt please. I refuse to play the ridiculous blame game, so just accept that _I_ was the moronic one who pulled the chair out and signed her own doom. It happened, and now I'm alright, so just leave it alone." Truthfully, I was beginning to get sick of all the attention, I longed for some peaceful solitude. Not that the constant companionship had been bad, I just needed time to reflect on everything for myself.

"..._What?_" He hissed, glaring at me. I figured it was because of me downplaying the problem, but I was tired from the long trip and catching up with my Pokemon so I didn't care at that moment.

"Seriously, I'm not a child. Alright, I was hurt. There's nothing you can do to fix it, so just let it go." My tone was far too harsh, I knew that immediately. "Grimsley..." I tried to apologize, but he cut me off with a hand.

"I see that my words are not wanted. I will leave you alone now," he said curtly, turning and walking away without looking at me. Internally, I cursed myself. Way to go, Shauntal. He tries to be nice and you have to go and throw it in his face. Well done!

I buried my head in my hands. This is why I spent most of my time alone; I obviously didn't connect well with people. I fled to my bedroom, locking the door and collapsing against the sheets.

"What is wrong with me?" I lamented to Chandelure, who hummed softly. I rubbed my forehead when a twinge of pain shot through me. "Oww," I moaned, pressing the button to turn the lights off and pulling the sheets over me.

The next morning I gathered myself together and swore I would go apologize.

"I can't just leave things the way they are. I have to go tell him it was just my stupidity getting in the way again." I told Cofagrigus fiercely, scowling when she just flapped one of her ghostly arms at me. "Don't brush me off; I'm trying to be decisive here!" I put a hand on my hip and turned to leave. "I'll do this, just watch! I can go walk into his room without flinching or running away, and talk to him without stuttering like a moron, you'll see!"

For all my brave words, I was still standing motionless staring at the front of his door twenty minutes later.

...

See, I told you she'd be fine. Physically, that is. Emotionally...well, it's about to get worse. Mmm... emotional turmoil...

Plus, the next chapter will probably have fluff in it. Maybe. If I still like what I've written when I get around to submitting it. Otherwise, consider me trolling you.

-Aerococonut


	4. Unexpected

**A/N:** We have pain, girly bonding, awkwardness and the slightest bit of fluff. Wow, this is kind of like a bad soap opera. My apologies if anyone is getting annoyed at me because of that. No wait, no one's died, gotten married, had illegitimate kids or moved away and come back twenty years later, I'm all good! But seriously, thanks for all your support guys. I love all my reviews, favs and alerts!

**Expectations**

**...**

Just knock already! I told myself fiercely, clenching my fist. When had I become such a coward? A sharp pain shot through my head suddenly.

"Oww," I groaned, rubbing my head. I'd felt a similar pain before, when I'd woken up this morning. I thought nothing of it, since it went away, but if it kept coming back...The doctors had warned me that there was a chance of side effects, since I'd suffered a traumatic head injury and people usually don't wake up after being in a coma longer than a day. Truthfully, the doctors had told the others that there was a high chance that I'd never wake up, or be a vegetable if I did. Apparently I'm now something of a miracle in that hospital.

A miracle that couldn't even knock on a door.

I hurriedly pulled myself together and knocked before I could over think the situation any more. There was always a chance he wouldn't be there...

"Come in."

Or he was, in which case I just had to suck it up. I opened the door tentatively, to find Grimsley sitting at a table with his head resting against his hand, staring wistfully into the distance. When he looked up and saw it was me, he stood up immediately, the traces of wistfulness gone.

"Uhh..." Okay, I'm not the most eloquent of people when I speak sometimes. I find the written word much easier.

"Shauntal!" I cringed slightly, biting my lower lip- a stupid nervous habit I have.

"Grimsley...I...uhh..." I gulped and tried again, only to be interrupted by him standing suddenly in front of me.

"Shauntal, I'm so sorry," he whispered, staring at my face.

...Why was he apologizing to _me?_ I was the one who had been less than polite, when all he'd done was show me kindness, and he begged _my _forgiveness? Maybe it was just the way he was raised. He actually had manners, unlike me.

"No, I'm here to say sorry. You were being nice, and I was rude, I'm sorry." I hoped he could read the sincerity in my voice. "Thank you." I smiled at him, glad that I managed to say the words without embarrassing myself. "I...I didn't mean to make it sound so..." I frowned, looking for the right words. I wished I could just write it down, but unfortunately that wasn't an option.

"...Dismissive?" He finished for me. I flinched. When he said it like that, I understood why he would view it as such.

"I'm sorry." I shook my head. Saying the words over and over again wasn't going to fix anything.

"Shauntal...You may try and claim the blame for this, but do you have any idea how _I _felt, seeing you lying there with blood running down your face, because of something I'd said?" He whispered, taking a step towards me. I hadn't even thought about what I must have looked like, lying there. _No wonder_ they'd been so worried about me. Head wounds always bled a lot, and the fact that I'd been unconscious for three days...

No wonder he felt so guilty. I rubbed my forehead, over the faded mark where the rod had hit me. I met his gaze, giving a slight smile. I went to say I was fine when the pain came back, causing me to gasp with its intensity.

"Shauntal?" Grimsley's voice was worried, but I couldn't see him, a white haze having filled my vision. I clasped both hands to my head, the pain sending me to my knees.

What was happening to me? Was this the side effects the doctors had warned me about?

"Aaahh," I moaned piteously. I could barely move the pain was so great. A sudden rising motion caused me to cry out. Grimsley had picked me up, as if I weighed nothing.

"It'll be alright," he told me, his voice sounding far away. "You'll get through this, I promise."

"Mmm," I couldn't seem to form cohesive words anymore. Make this pain go away, I thought as I gave up fighting the pull of the darkness.

I can't have been out long, because I woke up when he put me down.

"I don't know." Grimsley answered a question I'd missed. "She just fell, rubbing her forehead and in obvious pain!" He told Alder, whose face slowly came into focus.

"Shaunie?" I blinked at him as the pain faded enough for me to struggle to sit up. "Stay there," he warned, pushing me back down gently as a woman I barely recognized appeared. I studied her clothes and realized this was our resident medic Caela. We don't get sick very often, but it does happen.

"Ah, you're awake. Can you tell me your name?" Caela asked me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Did you forget who I am or something?" I didn't understand why she was asking me such a moronic question. "I know I don't come here often..." Alder snorted.

"She was checking to see if you were aware of yourself, Shaunie." I flushed. Of course she was.

Why was I so stupid?

"Uhh...right. I knew that," I muttered, looking down.

"Okay then, how are you feeling?" She flashed a light into my eyes. I flinched, but waited out her examination. "Hmm, your eyes seem to be normal, and I can't find anything amiss. Maybe it was just a migraine?"

"Are they common after head injuries?" I questioned. Damned writer's curiosity, I was going to have to go research now. At least then I might be more prepared for when my body decided to crash. "Anyways, I feel fine." I demonstrated by sitting up. "So, can I go now? I think I've spent more than enough time in hospital lately." Caela smiled at me.

"Well, there doesn't appear to be anything I can do to help, it could just be a one off thing, or it might recur multiple times." I froze. This could keep happening? "The doctors at the hospital scanned you, didn't they?"

"They found nothing wrong," Grimsley said quietly from the side, where he and Alder were waiting.

"Docs said that it would be touch and go for a while, and that they couldn't guarantee a full recovery." Alder looked really sad all of a sudden. I stood up, not wanting to be the centre of attention any longer.

"I refuse to sit around waiting to die. If something's going to happen to me, then I want to enjoy myself while I can. That means I can't be lying around in a hospital bed for the rest of my life. However long that might be." Alder hugged me fiercely.

"Don't ever say that, Shauntal," he murmured angrily. "You're going to stay with us. None of this loser talk, you hear me!" He pulled back and glared at me, hands on hips.

"Right," I smiled ruefully. "Besides, I survived a pole to the face and a three day coma. I'm virtually indestructible," I proclaimed. Grimsley made a noise halfway between a cough and choking. Alder just laughed and clapped me on the back.

"That's my girl. Now, you have to take it easy. After all, you aren't used to moving around as much now, because you've been in a hospital for a couple of weeks. Your body just isn't used to frequent movement yet. Try resting and taking it slow and I'll bet you'll be fine!"

I nodded and swore I wouldn't do anything too hard. Caela eventually let me go, and I promised I'd go back to my room and laze around all day. The prospect bored me, but it was good advice and I was hardly in a position to argue.

I was lying on my massive pile of beanbags reading when Caitlin burst in suddenly.

"Gah!" I dropped my book in surprise.

"Shauntal, what happened?" She knelt gracefully next to me, her luminous eyes worried. "Are you alright? Grimsley said you were hurt again!" She reined in her emotions, sitting down and spreading out her dress.

"My head started hurting and my vision went all white for a bit." I shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. "So I'm on strict orders not to do anything that requires energy. Which means I'm sitting around reading." She nodded, carefully raising her hand and sweeping my hair back from the faint mark. I moved back slightly; Caitlin wasn't one for close contact.

"Poor thing," she whispered, staring at me. I took a chance and hugged her. She froze in surprise before wrapping her arms around me and leaning on my shoulder. "I'm sorry Shauntal," she said against my neck. She didn't move for a few minutes."...You know something?" She said suddenly. "I always wanted a sister."

"Me too," I grinned, feeling ridiculous pleased. I never really thought Caitlin and I had that much in common; we'd never really been close friends. I hoped that this meant we could change that. It would be nice to have a best friend.

"I..." Caitlin sat up, brushing her skirt nervously. "I didn't mean to...that is, umm..." I'd never seen Caitlin so unsure. "...Can I stay here?"

"...Sure?" I wasn't sure why she was asking, I wasn't about to kick her out.

"...Overnight?" She actually looked nervous. I blinked when it clicked.

"Like, stay over? In my room?" She nodded, looking away. "Yes, of course you can. It'll be nice to do all those silly, girly things. I never did while I was a teenager, so this will be a new experience for me!" She gave me a funny look.

"...You haven't had a sleepover? Really?" I stood up and grabbed the spare blankets out of my cupboard.

"Well...no. I was a pretty introverted child. Nobody really wanted to hang out with the dorky, painfully shy kid. So I used to just hide somewhere quiet and read all the time. Besides, I had Litwick then; I didn't really need anyone else." She gave me a pitying look, and just hugged me awkwardly. Still, for Caitlin, that was amazing.

We ended up chatting until the early hours of the morning. I discovered that Caitlin is actually quite energetic when she wants to be (she just says she likes her beauty sleep), she is envious of my hair colour, and she absolutely adores macaroni. Go figure.

In return, I revealed that I wished I could have her polished manner of speaking, I hated onions with a passion and I sometimes danced around my Room singing loudly.

Eventually we fell asleep on the mattresses, too exhausted to stay awake any longer. I may be used to strange sleep cycles, but Caitlin went to bed at the same time every night.

So when I woke up a few hours later and poked her, she groaned at me and refused to move.

"Come on, Caitlin, I'm hungry. Let's go get breakfast!" It was closer to lunch, but I was craving cereal for some reason. I shook her for what had to be half an hour.

"Fine!" She yawned and finally dragged herself out of bed. I snickered at the sight of her mussed hair and dopey expression.

"No wonder you always sleep so much." I tugged on a wayward lock of hair. "Look at you! Sleeping Beauty's scary sister!" She raised an eyebrow and just looked at me. I held up a finger and went into my bedroom, coming back with a hairbrush. "You might want this." I offered it to her.

"Yes, thank you." Apparently she was somewhat awake now.

By the time she cleaned up enough to 'be seen in public' (I was exceptionally grateful that it takes me five minutes to get ready), we left for the restaurant.

No one else was around when we got there. I managed to convince Caitlin to try cereal- can you believe she's never had cornflakes?-with limited success. She admitted they were alright, but she preferred toast.

I laughingly said she should try cornflakes _on_ her toast, and the look she gave me was priceless. I was still laughing afterwards when we left.

"Really Shauntal, it's disgusting. How could you even mention that?" Her expression was vaguely repulsed. I smirked.

"Don't knock it till you've tried it," I told her, even though I haven't actually tried it myself.

"Tried what?" Marshal asked out of nowhere.

"Eep!" Calm, cool and controlled I am not.

"Shauntal believes that cornflakes actually taste good on toast," Caitlin said. Marshal beamed.

"Oh hell yeah, that's awesome man! Haven't you tried that? I love cereal on toast!" We both gave him disbelieving stares.

"...You know I was joking about that whole thing?" I tried to imagine what it would taste like. The milk would make the toast all soggy, and I hate soggy toast.

"You were? Aww man, and here I was thinking someone else finally acknowledged my brilliance!"

"Did you just use the word 'brilliance' to describe yourself? Because I hate to deflate your already over-inflated ego, but there are many words used to describe you...and that isn't one of them." Grimsley leaned around the corner, a smirk on his face.

Marshal has an incessant need to prove himself. Since he cannot defeat Alder, and we women don't qualify as _real _opponents...Grimsley usually ends up being his punching bag.

...I'm not trying to be mean, but let's face facts.

Grimsley, attractive though he is, is a lightweight compared to Marshal and he has the disadvantage of being a Dark-type user. Marshal's Pokemon wipe the floor with his, and their Trainer is physically a lot stronger than his opponent. Even so, Grimsley still fights, and it has created a strange friendly rivalry between them.

"Oh yeah?" Marshal challenged, raising his fists. See what I mean? He just can't help himself.

"Hello," Grimsley said to us, completely ignoring Marshal. On purpose. Marshal's nostrils flared.

"That's it, let's go!" I laughed as Caitlin giggled at the show of masculinity.

"Better go, Grimsley, or we'll never hear the end of it," Caitlin deadpanned, her face suddenly neutral.

"Whose side are you on?" He questioned in a mock-outraged tone, but still turned and walked off, Marshal following close behind.

"I truly don't understand their relationship." Caitlin watched them leave with a bemused expression.

"Does anyone?" I giggled, and she joined me in laughter.

**. . .**

Caitlin and I had walked around Pokemon League all day –gentle exercise, of course-, and eventually we'd ended up back at our Rooms. She's been yawning for a good hour, and decided that she was going to bed early since we'd stayed up so late the previous night.

I gave her a quick hug goodbye and went back to my own Room. Truthfully, I was exhausted. Being out of action for a while had made my body weaker than normal.

A sharp pain pierced my head. I gritted my teeth and prepared myself for the white haze, but the pain faded away.

I couldn't decide if that was a good thing or not. And now I was tired and sore.

Bed sounded great.

I was able to meet the others for breakfast the next day, since we hadn't had a proper meal together since the accident. Thankfully, they were sitting as far away from _that_ window as they could, for which I was exceptionally grateful.

"Well, go on," Marshal elbowed Grimsley in the side when I sat down. Grimsley scowled at him.

"Not right now!" he said under his breath, as Marshal laughed evilly. I wondered if they'd been talking about me.

Caitlin nudged me gently.

"Look," she whispered, her eyes flicking over to Marshal's plate.

I burst out laughing.

"Oh wow, I can't actually believe you really _do_ eat that!" Sure enough, he had four pieces of toast spread out in a fan with a large pile of cornflakes in the middle. Caitlin hid a smile behind her hand. Marshal looked offended.

"Hey, don't insult the awesomeness that is cornflake toast!" A calculating gleam lit his eyes. "Here ya go, Shauntal! Have a taste!" He broke off a small bit of toast and scooped up some of the flakes.

"Uhh...no," I held up both hands in surrender, still laughing.

'Aww, c'mon! 'Don't knock it till you try it' you said! Now put your money where your mouth is!"

Ouch, having my own words thrown back at me hurt. I couldn't avoid eating it without making myself into a liar.

"...Fine," I grabbed the piece and shoved it in my mouth. "...Hey, that actually wasn't so bad," I said when I'd finally stopped chewing.

"See?" Marshal whooped triumphantly. The others groaned.

"Now we'll never hear the end of it," Caitlin flicked her fingers at me, a smile in her eyes.

The rest of the morning passed pretty quickly, we all kind of lazed around the courtyard talking.

Well, Caitlin, Grimsley and I talked. Marshal just boasted or made snide comments to Grimsley. But it was fun, the kind of fun that I never really experienced. Just a group of friends (or friendly rivals, we were still unsure about the guys) hanging out together.

Slowly, we drifted off to do our own things. I decided to go back and read the rest of the book Caitlin had brought me at the hospital.

So I was sitting in my Room lost in another world when the door opened.

"May I have a word?" Grimsley asked, standing at the door. Well, at least he'd walked in without waiting for permission, that was progress.

"Sure." Somehow, I'd lost my nervousness around him, I no longer stuttered when he was talking to me. Since I'd woken up, I'd felt closer to all three of my fellow Elitists.

"I'm not interrupting you, am I?" he asked, watching me with a strange expression. He looked apprehensive, his posture rigid.

"No..." I waited for him to speak. He looked away; unsure of how to say whatever it was he wanted to.

"Shauntal, I..."

His obvious reluctance to speak was starting to make me worried.

"Did something happen?" His gaze snapped up to meet mine.

"No, no, nothing's happened, it's just..." He sighed, and drew in a breath.

And then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine.

...

_Finally!_ Hahaha, I ended up completely changing what I had planned for this chapter...but it gave me the idea for what happens next and I decided I liked it even better than before. So now we all eagerly await what happens next...well, you do. I already know. Smirk.

You know I love you.

-Aerococonut


	5. Defended

**A/N:** Okay, so I went back and changed the length of Shauntal's coma to three days, after I got a few reviews notifying me that it's too unbelievable for three weeks. I haven't really changed anything else, just bits and pieces, but I thought I'd mention that so nobody gets confused from now on. See? I can compromise; don't be afraid to point out errors. That's what makes you a better author. Anyways, I rewrote this chapter so many times that this is completely different from what I originally had in mind, but I think it works better than the drivel I had originally planned. Still, I'm loving the dynamics between these four. I'm completely in love with Unova's Elitists. Thanks for everyone who's reviewed; I love your feedback, and the fact that you guys enjoy reading this story as much as I adore writing it!

...

**Expectations**

"Shauntal! I need to talk to you." Marshal jogged to catch up to me. I glared at him and kept walking. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, let alone the male members of the Elite Four. "Shauntal! Stop being stubborn, you know it was my fault that he kissed you. Give me a chance to explain!" I turned on him, my hands clenched into fists.

"Get lost, Marshal. I don't want to talk to you, or _him_. Leave me alone!" I stormed off, but he placed himself in my path.

"Look, I'm sorry that I made him kiss you, but I'm so sick of him looking like a moron!" I whipped around and moved my face in close to his.

"_He_ looks like a moron? How do you think _I_ feel when I was kissed because of some stupid_ bet!_ You _asshole!"_ I usually tried my best to refrain from swearing, but I was furious with them both and Marshal was just making it worse. "Why on earth would you _do_ something like that? Whatever gave you the insane idea to force Grimsley to kiss me because he lost your stupid bet? Why drag me into this anyway? Do you know how humiliated I feel right now?" I hissed, stalking off again. Truthfully, I didn't care to hear his explanation; I just wanted to hide somewhere they'd never find me.

"Shauntal! Stop already!" Marshal grabbed my shoulder. I threw his arm away from me, glaring. Why didn't he get the message? I obviously didn't want to talk, so leave me alone. "Damn, why ask questions if you won't hang around for the answers?" He sidestepped the kick I aimed at his legs and pinned my arms to my sides. "Listen already! I didn't mean for you to get upset, I was trying to do something nice for Grimsley!"

"How could that be considered nice? You forced him to kiss me!" I yelled. If I didn't yell I would start crying, and I'd had more than enough embarrassment an hour ago.

"I made him kiss you because he wanted to but never would! _He likes you,_ Shauntal! He doesn't want to lose your respect or offend you, but he's always staring at you when you're not looking, always smiles whenever you walk into the room, and he is currently beating himself up because he hurt you! For the love of Fighting, why are you so blind?" I was so stunned I could only stand there gaping at him.

..._What?_ I couldn't seem to form any cohesive thoughts. There was no way that was true. Marshal noticed my disbelief and slowly released my arms, nodding. _He doesn't like me like that_, I thought, completely shocked out of my rage.

"I'm sorry if you're offended, but I wanted to do something nice for Grimsley. I've been kicking his ass for the past few days, so this was my way of trying to help him out. I'm sorry that it backfired." He snorted to himself, sadness in his eyes. "Looks like all I succeeded in was causing a rift between all of us. Alright, I'm happy for you to be mad at me. I deserve it. But, just let him off the hook, okay? He's more honourable than I am to have fulfilled my request even at the cost of his happiness. I don't know what I can do to make it better, for either of you," Marshal said wretchedly.

Still in a state of shock, I nodded slowly.

"Well, the first thing would be for me to go apologize for slapping him. Now I feel really guilty." I bit my lip. When Grimsley had told me about the bet, I'd reacted badly and hit him across the face. Not my best moment, but I was humiliated and livid that I meant so little to him. Now that I knew that wasn't truly the case, I was going to have to face him.

Living in such close quarters with other people meant we had to face our problems pretty quickly. You couldn't really run or hide from them, since we had to interact together quite a bit. We learnt to compromise with each other, but that didn't stop problems occurring in the first place.

"I really shouldn't say this, since I want us to get along again...but that was one hell of a slap!" Marshal snickered. I felt myself flush.

"I didn't plan it, okay? I was angry, and just...lashed out." I defended myself. "Besides, it has to have happened in the past, right?" That caused Marshal to laugh outright, slapping his thighs and grinning at me.

"Ah, your sense of humour is so understated, but I love it. I'm sure he's had his fair share of women hitting him. Maybe it's karma's way of balancing out his unnatural prettiness. I mean, come on! He's better looking than half the girls I know!" I giggled and decided to tease him a little. After all, I think I owed him a taste of his own medicine.

"Wow Marshal, I didn't know your tastes ran than way!" He gave me a dumbfounded look, and then took in my smile.

"I didn't mean it like that, you crazy girl," he said, shaking his head at me. "But seriously, half his face was bright red. How on earth did you learn to hit that hard?" I groaned.

"Let it go, Marshal. You're trying to get on my good side, remember? Besides, I was angry and that was my dominant hand. I suppose my wrists are built up because I spend so much time writing by hand." Marshal took this in, cocking his head to the side.

"I never even thought about it like that. You are dangerous; remind me not to irritate you...uh...again, that is." He grinned sheepishly. I waved him off, not wanting to alienate all of my fellow Elitists.

"I forgive you, Marshal. But next time you get the idea to 'do something nice'...do us a favour and...Don't. My emotions can't handle it, okay?" He nodded solemnly.

"I swear to never do anything nice again."

"Not what I meant!" I laughed, seeing him grin.

"Don't worry. I'll pay more attention to what I'm doing next time." He bumped his shoulder lightly against mine. "Seriously though, I'm really sorry I caused such a mess," he said, turning back to look at me.

"It's alright Marshal, I know what you were trying to do. Now that I'm not angry anymore, I understand. It'll be awkward, but it's not like I haven't experienced _that_ before," I said dryly.

"I support you one hundred percent, Shauntal!" Marshal clapped me on the back. I sneered at him.

"Or course you do. You're just grateful that _I'm_ the one going to talk to Grimsley, instead of you. You started this mess; shouldn't you be the one cleaning it up?"

"You were the one who slapped him!"

"Well you were the one who caused me to get angry and slap him!"

"Well you were the one who was angry!"

"Well you were the one who made him lose the bet!

"Well you were the one who he had to like in order for me to order him to kiss you!"

"Well...wait, what?" I couldn't make sense of his convoluted argument.

"Yes, I win!" He punched the air in victory. I was laughing too hard to continue. We were arguing like schoolchildren. "Really though, I think you're brave for doing this, Shauntal." We'd meandered our way down the long corridor and were at the intersection between Rooms. "Anyways, I'll just disappear now. I don't think I want to be his scratching post, because no doubt he'll probably curse me to oblivion for causing so much stress." Marshal rubbed the back of his neck. "Later, Shauntal." He walked down the left side.

"See you," I said nervously, looking towards the other side. I started walking slowly. It's one thing to say you'll do something, but the complete opposite to carry it out. Especially since I hated confrontation. Really, I had no right to go around hitting people for some perceived insult, and he was well within his rights to yell at me.

The lights flickered suddenly. I blinked. It was highly odd for that to happen, we usually have unlimited power to everything, and generators if our main power fails.

"How dare you?" I heard someone screech from down the hall. Strangely enough, it sounded like Caitlin, but she never got that angry due to her abilities.

As a powerful psychic, if Caitlin ever got angry her restraints on her powers failed and they went haywire. It had taken her a long time to master her temper in order to join the Elite Four.

"That means nothing to me!" I crept forward slowly, not wanting to draw the attention of whoever was yelling. "It should not have _ever_ happened like that!"

It _was_ Caitlin! I immediately pressed my back against the wall. She was _really_ mad, and I didn't want to be in the crossfire when her powers exploded. At the same time, I was intensely curious to know why she was so mad. I reached the end of the wall and listened.

"That is no excuse!" The lights all shattered down the corridors. I flinched and put my hands up as shards of glass fell around me.

"Please, Caitlin, calm down! You need to restrain your powers." The voice sounded nervous, and I gasped quietly when I realized it was Grimsley. Was Caitlin yelling at him?

"I will not be calm!" There was a _push_ to the air, and a large hole appeared opposite me, at the end of the corridor where they were standing. "How _dare _you tell _me_ what to do?" She shrieked, and I felt the ripple in the air just before a whole section of the roof caved in. "Plebeian idiot! You have no right to order me around, after what you've done!" I peeked around the corner to find Caitlin snarling at Grimsley, who was pressed back against the wall, trying to avoid being hit by falling rubble. Energy radiated from her, swirling around in vivid shades of pink and purple.

"Caitlin, I-" She flung out an arm and pink waves of pure energy were sent hurtling towards him. He ducked quickly, narrowly avoiding being hit. I wanted to interfere, but I could not be sure Caitlin wouldn't just turn on me.

"You don't deserve her!" Caitlin said viciously, her eyes narrowed. They glared at each other for what had to be a whole minute, before Caitlin took a deep breath, and the emanating waves surrounding her began to fade. "Oh dear, what have I done?" She took in the destruction around her. "Oh bother. I swore I had my temper under control," she said, regaining her calm. "I suppose I will have to go order this fixed."

"How can you do that? One minute you were screaming at me, the next you stand around observing everything with detachment. How can you be that callous?" Grimsley dusted off his jacket, his eyes raking over Caitlin. "You insult me and then just brush it off?" Caitlin sighed.

"I need to remain calm and detached; otherwise we get a repeat of this. I thought I had my powers under control, but apparently I still have flaws." She wiped a hand under her eyes. "I did not mean to come here to insult you, but I keep thinking of poor Shauntal and you just happened to be the cause of her problems."

"And here I was thinking that you just had no emotions!" Grimsley said caustically, climbing over a large piece of rubble.

"For someone who supposedly knows women, you don't know anything at all," she whispered, turning and walking away slowly. Grimsley rested a hand against his forehead.

I stood there in indecision, unsure of whether or not I should stay and apologize like I had originally planned, or just run away. The decision was taken out of my hands when Grimsley started moving in my direction. The corridors were long and straight, with nowhere to hide.

I was stuck with apologizing.

"So, umm..." I said brightly, internally calling myself a hundred and one different names. I wished I could learn to speak my thoughts out loud properly.

"Shauntal," Grimsley stopped dead, looking at me with agony in his eyes. "Please, I wish...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" I held up a hand and walked forward.

"No. Shut up and listen to me!" I frowned at him. "I'm the one saying sorry, okay? So just...don't say anything." I tried to gather my thoughts so that I would stop being so rude. There must be something wrong with me. Maybe I _did_ have mental effects from the coma, although I've always had trouble converting the phrases in my head to legible spoken words.

Novelist I may be, but conversationalist I am not.

Grimsley stood there, waiting for me to continue. I groaned when I saw that half of his face was still red. "Uhh...I really shouldn't have done that," I mumbled, indicating his cheek.

"You had every provocation to," he said calmly. I moved closer.

"I umm...I talked to Marshal, and he explained everything. I'm really sorry I yelled at you like that." I bit my lip and dared to look at him. He laughed and smiled ruefully.

"I've done nothing _but _be yelled at by women in the last couple of hours," he said, running a hand through his hair. "I do deserve it though. Bet or no bet, that's no excuse for bad manners." I snorted.

"I guess that means I have no manners then."

"Not true. You just have a different way of expressing yourself. If you had no manners, you wouldn't be standing here full of remorse," he told me. I shrugged.

"If you say so. Anyway...I vote we just forget the whole incident and go back to whatever relationship we had before." I wasn't going to mention the rest of Marshal's conversation. I still wasn't entirely sure he hadn't been joking.

"If that is what you want," he said in a troubled tone.

"Well it's either that, or you retaliate violently because I hit you," I put my hands on my hips. "So you choose. I'd prefer to drop it, because I hate getting yelled at, but if you really want..." I let it trail off. Grimsley laughed and bowed mockingly.

"Then I shall not yell at you. Is there anything else you wanted?"

"While we're on the subject...yes. Dinner. All this constant anxiety and strangeness is making me hungry," I demanded, walking towards the restaurant.

Caitlin and Marshal had their heads bent together when we got there, and I noticed a small half-smile on Caitlin's face. Hmm...interesting.

"So, how'd you go?" Marshal quickly leapt up when he spotted me.

"Fine, thanks Marshal." I studied his face closely. "Hey...are you...blushing?" My jaw dropped. Marshal looked stunned, quickly averting his gaze.

"No! Whatever gave you that stupid idea, Shauntal?" Caitlin's lips twitched.

"Was it something I said?" she asked in an even tone, her voice betraying no emotion whatsoever.

"Okay, I want details. You have to tell me what I just missed. Caitlin, you're sleeping over tonight." I told her, pointing emphatically.

"What details? What? Did I miss something?" The Fighting Elitist emphatically asked. Caitlin gave her version of a grimace and nodded. I clapped my hands together in delight.

"Yes, you missed the entire underlying conversation Shauntal and I just had." Caitlin turned to Marshal. He gaped at us, his open-mouthed expression making me giggle. "It is a female thing. Do not worry about it," she said, brushing a lock of blonde hair out of the way.

"I'm afraid I missed the conversation as well." Grimsley frowned, sitting down. Caitlin and I looked at each other.

"Never mind," we said in synchronicity.

"It's not really to do with you, anyway." I smiled at him. He raised an eyebrow in response.

"Hmm..." He didn't believe me.

"So, umm...Are we all friends again?" Marshal interrupted, playing with his fork.

"Well of course, Marshal," Caitlin answered, rolling her eyes ever so slightly. "We are a team, after all. These little issues mean naught in the grand scheme of things. Small bumps in the path mean nothing when you have already moved past them," she said philosophically.

We all just gave her a look. Caitlin wasn't known for her sagely advice.

"Okay then. So who's hungry?" Marshal changed the topic, earning a huff of disapproval from Caitlin.

"Plebeian," she muttered. I couldn't help snorting. I was going to have to lend her a dictionary.

Then she could insult people properly.

...

Stay tuned for more crazy adventures from everyone's favourite Elitists!

Also, it's about time Caitlin got some personality. Her psychic powers are awesome, and I believe everyone should add the word 'plebeian' to their vocabulary. And Marshal got some love in this chapter. I think they might actually have to become more like main characters instead of just hanging on the sidelines. Originally I was just going to focus on Shaunie and Grim, but I'm falling in love with Caitlin and Marshal too. They have their own brand of awesome. It might not be as gorgeous or sexy as our favourite couple, but it's still awesome.

-Aerococonut


	6. Challenged

**A/N: **Wow, this took me so long to write. I'm so sorry. However, I finally managed to write something I am happy with, so hopefully this chapter was worth the wait.

**Expectations**

I let my mind drift. It had been about a week and a half since Marshal and Grimsley had their stupid bet. We had sort of returned to normal, although I was back to spending a lot of time in my Room.

"Are you listening to me?" Caitlin asked suddenly. I turned back, blinking dozily. She was staying over again. It had become a common thing now, and I enjoyed the company...most of the time.

"Hmm?" I hadn't been listening, in truth. "Sorry, what did you say?" She sighed and gave me a long suffering look.

"Shauntal, really. You should pay more attention. I could have just told you the Room was burning and you wouldn't have cared." She frowned at me. I gave her a helpless shrug.

"I'm sorry Caitlin. I just...zoned. Anyways, you keep yawning, so I know you're tired too." Caitlin stifled another yawn, lying down on the mattress.

"Yes, but I wasn't the one ignoring the conversation," she said petulantly, stretching out.

"I said I was sorry," I muttered, rolling over onto my back. "So what did you say?"

"Nothing important. I'm going to sleep now, though." I groaned in disbelief.

"Come on, you lecture me about daydreaming and then refuse to tell me what you were talking about? Cruel, Caitlin." A soft snore was my only response.

There was no way she fell asleep that quickly! I poked her gently but even that didn't garner a response.

"Wow, you have problems," I snickered, sighing a moment later. I wasn't in the mood to sleep; my mind was whirring too fast. Sitting up again, I decided I may as well do something productive and fetched my notebook. I hadn't worked on my latest story for a while, and it was up to a good –yet delicate- bit, and I was having trouble finding the right words to accurately portray the emotions I wanted.

Nearly an hour later, I was still staring at a blank page.

"Urgh!" I threw the notebook to the side, startling Caitlin into semi-wakefulness.

"Murr?" She half-opened one eye.

"Go back to sleep." I rolled my eyes as she did so.

_Chhrrr?_ Chandelure descended from the ceiling, her eerie blue flames flickering. She hovered close to my head, obviously wondering why I was throwing things.

"It's nothing. Just...can't think of the way I want to say it." I drew my knees up to my chin.

_Chuuuuurrrr._ She made a disgruntled chiming sound. No doubt telling me I was being stupid and to go to bed. I muttered something about pushy pokemon and lay back down again, placing my glasses far enough away that I wouldn't roll on them and snap them.

Yes, that has happened in the past. Lesson learned.

Eventually, after some time staring at the ceiling and listening to Caitlin snore, I finally fell asleep.

...

Yawning, I kicked off the blanket and felt around for my glasses. Huh, how did they get all the way over there? Oh right, I moved them last night.

Caitlin groaned when I shook her, muttering something before rolling over. I decided to leave her there and go get breakfast by myself. It wasn't worth the telling off I'd get again for 'disturbing her rest...again'.

I was about halfway to the restaurant when I narrowly avoided running into Marshal.

"Hey, Shauntal! Guess what?" I gave him a worried look. Things never ended well when he said those words, and if he was about to offer me a bet...So help me, I was going to hurt him.

"What?" I asked suspiciously, glaring over the top of my glasses. He laughed and hit me on the shoulder. I'm sure he meant it to be friendly, but it hurt a fair bit. "Oww." I tapped my foot, waiting.

"Err...sorry. I forget you're a featherweight. _Anyway_, like I was trying to say, there's a challenger waiting out the front. She's preparing or something, and she plans to challenge after lunch!" Marshal grinned evilly, cracking his knuckles. "She's doomed of course. I haven't lost a match in forever, and she put in for me first!"

Challengers had to put in their preferences at the front area, so we could prepare for the upcoming battles. It made it easier if we knew we had to fight in advance. I have actually missed a challenger because I was out of my Room when I was called. Not one of my finer moments, to be sure...

Marshal stretched his arms over his head, obviously excited. I was a bit ambivalent towards the situation. Although I enjoy battling a lot, and I often get inspiration for my stories from them, I also hated putting my pokemon through all the stress. Especially after my last challenge.

"Time for you to earn your keep, Marshal!" I said brightly, shifting my attention away from the embarrassing memories. He raised an eyebrow knowingly. My colleagues all knew about my horrific defeat, unfortunately.

"Nice try Shauntal. You're second, on the off chance I happen to lose." Damn. Hopefully Marshal turned out to be as good as he was promising. Otherwise I was in trouble. My training had been rather sporadic since that battle, and that had been a few months ago. Not that any of my fellow Elitists knew that...

"Uhh, well, I'll just have to win then." Even to my own ears, my voice wasn't convincing. Marshal's smirk said he could tell.

"Don't worry! She won't get past me." He slapped me on the back. I flinched, hissing through my teeth.

"Stop. Hitting. Me." I growled, glaring at him again. Marshal cowered a little, pretending to be scared. He lightly patted my back to say he was sorry, grinning the whole while. "You're incorrigible," I sighed, mentally reminding myself to stock up on Full Restores.

"What did you just call me?" he demanded, as I blinked at him.

"What?" I wasn't sure what he meant.

"That word you just used! Inco-something! Were you insulting me?" I took one look at his earnest face and started laughing. He was actually serious. Maybe I should lend him a dictionary as well.

"Incorrigible," I corrected, smiling to myself. Let him look it up by himself. Knowledge is always better when one goes seeking it by themselves.

_Knowledge is power._ Something my father had told me years ago.

"Yeah...what does it mean?" I started walking back towards my Room, deciding breakfast was less important than last minute practice.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Yeah, I'll figure it out. Maybe you'll figure out a way to avoid getting slaughtered this time too." My shoulders slumped at the hurtful reminder.

"That wasn't necessary," I said in a small voice. "Incorrigible just means you're incapable of change." I walked away, looking down.

"Hey, wait, Shauntal! I'm sorry, but when you use strange words I don't know...for all I do know, they _could_ be insults!"

"That doesn't mean you have to insult me back. Alright, so I lost abysmally last time. If I'm lucky, I'll only get beaten badly this time."

"You might not even have to fight." He pointed out, crossing his arms. "She still has to get past me, and I'm the best!" That was debatable, since I can and have beaten him in the past.

"Whatever." I increased my pace and nearly ran into the other two as they came round a corner. "Gah, sorry!" Caitlin waved off my apology.

"Where did you go? I woke up and you were gone." I shrugged.

"Breakfast," I answered, thinking wistfully of the bag of chips in my room. Since I often miss meals, I've gotten into the habit of storing large quantities of snack food nearby, in case of emergency.

"I didn't see you, and I just came from the restaurant," Marshal said, confused.

"That's because I was on my way there when I met you. And it was before I discovered we had a challenger."

"Oh, did you two hear about the new challenger then?" Caitlin brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. I wondered how everyone else always seemed to know before I did.

"Marshal just told me, and I was about to go get ready." I slid past them and walked away before they could call me back, not wanting a drawn out discussion of battle techniques when I really needed to train.

I spent the next four hours training with my pokemon, even though I knew it was a futile gesture. A few hours couldn't compare to the amount of time I'd slacked off.

"I'm so sorry, guys," I said forlornly, watching my pokemon float around, occasionally disappearing completely. Some people find Ghost types to be rather creepy, due to their frequent disappearing, but I was used to it. "We're...going to be trounced again," I sighed, earning four disgruntled noises.

Chandelure floated next to me, but I couldn't believe her reassurances.

_Chrrr_ she hummed, blowing wisps of flame in front of my face.

"We'll just have to do our best," I said softly. "And hope that Marshal wins."

...

Marshal lost, the jerk.

"Here we go," I muttered, as the challenger walked in.

She was beautiful, with long, brunette hair bouncing in vivacious curls, surrounding a heart shaped face. She was wearing a deep gold dress that sparkled in the light and framed a figure I was immediately jealous of.

"Hi! So you're Shauntal, right?" The woman walked up to me, her hips swishing to and fro. I barely refrained from scowling at her.

"Yes, that's right. What's your name, challenger?" She blinked and grinned.

"Hehe, I'm Delilah! So, ready to fight?" She was enthusiastic, I'd give her that. Normally I liked to talk to my challengers first, but she was obviously eager to get on with it. I turned and walked back to my side of the Room.

"Always," I threw over my shoulder, grabbing the first pokeball my fingers touched. Golurk.

"Alright! Let's do this!" she shouted happily, summoning her first pokemon. A bright flash of red light heralded a Lilligant.

"An interesting first choice," I called, cursing mentally as I quickly switched Golurk's pokeball with Chandelure's. She chimed happily as she appeared.

My strategy with battling pretty much came down to: pick on their weaknesses. "Fire Blast," I grinned, Chandelure obliging immediately.

"Dodge it, Lilligant!" Delilah shrieked, and her pokemon attempted to follow orders. Luckily for me, Chandelure was faster and managed to connect her attack. It wasn't a direct hit, but I could still see a large amount of damage was inflicted.

"Again," I said as Chandelure floated to the side of the field. My pokemon knew what they were doing, and Chandelure had been my partner for years. Most of the time, I didn't even need to say anything; she'd just choose her own path.

Her Lilligant crashed to the ground, clearly unable to continue. I allowed myself a smirk as Chandelure bounced up and down.

"One down!" I taunted, as she scowled at me.

"Bitch." The insult was lessened by the fact that her face contorted when she scowled, making her far less attractive. I beamed at her, knowing it would irritate her. I refused to insult her back. I'm not _that_ juvenile.

She glared and sent out her next pokemon.

The Beartic growled, and stomped its feet. I waved Chandelure forward and she used Inferno straight off the bat.

A grand total of forty-six seconds later, her Beartic had fainted and I was giggling helplessly.

"How did you manage to beat Marshal, seriously?" I laughed at her, ignoring the string of curses she threw my way.

The smile was wiped off my face when she summoned Crustle and used Stone Edge twice to take out Chandelure. I grabbed Jellicent's pokeball, intent on retribution. "Bring her down," I said, promising internally to pay more attention from now on. "Use Surf!"

Crustle tried to move out of the way, but there is no stopping a wave of water that massive. The move wasn't as effective as I wanted, but Crustle still looked to be in a bad way.

"You can give up, you know!" I said cheerily, letting the thrill of battle run through me. I hadn't realized how long it had been since I'd had a decent battle.

"I don't think so! Crustle, use Bug Bite!" I raised an eyebrow as Jellicent neatly avoided the attack. I wouldn't have used a move like that.

"Energy Ball!" The blast of glowing light hit Crustle dead on. "Strike three, you're out!" I snickered at the joke, and then wanted to hit myself.

What was with all the bad one liners?

"Return, Crustle," Delilah said angrily, her hand locating another pokeball. I idly wondered how many she had. My pokemon had already taken out three of hers. That was halfway, if she had a full team of six. I had three left, so we were even. "It's up to you now, Unfezant!"

"Well that explains how you beat Marshal." I wished I'd been able to watch his battle. He usually retaliated with Rock moves against any bird pokemon.

"Shut up! I _will_ beat you! Unfezant's my best friend, and together we can conquer anything!" I shrugged, unable to help myself.

"Let's see a better fight then. Because so far...I'm not really impressed." I was being nasty, I know, but something about her galled me... She balled her fists and swept an arm forward, indicating to the right.

"You cow! We'll show you, Unfezant, use Quick Attack!" I gave her a dumbfounded look as Jellicent disappeared, the attack completely ineffective.

"You...are aware I am a Ghost trainer, right?" I questioned, earning a look of disgust in return.

"Yeah, what about it?" she spat out, glaring daggers at me.

"Oh okay. Just checking, since, you know, Normal-type moves don't have any effect on Ghost pokemon." The look she gave me was priceless.

"I know that."

"Ah, so it was stupidity, not ignorance that made you attack her with a Normal move."

If looks could kill...

Jellicent reappeared and unleashed another attack, defeating her Unfezant.

Scowling and shrieking curses, Delilah flounced out of my Room, apparently out of pokemon. All I could do was hold my sides and laugh. I'd been so worried...and she only managed to beat one of my pokemon.

"Great job, guys." I beamed, placing my pokemon on the healing machine. It wasn't long before there was a knock at my door. I went over and opened it, a huge smile on my face, since I was in such a good mood. "Hi, Grimsley!" I greeted him cheerily. He blinked and looked at me curiously, his expression puzzled.

"I...take it you had a good match, then?" He leaned back against the door frame. I laughed, nodding as I made a snap decision.

"Did you want to come in?" I offered, moving to the side. He studied me for a moment, and I thought he was about to refuse when he nodded.

"If you do not mind..." He walked in and I closed the door behind him, humming some random tune under my breath.

I couldn't say exactly why I was so happy...just that I was. It was a nice change from all the turmoil I'd been going through lately. No sudden collapses, the challenger vanquished...and an ironclad promise from Marshal to never involve me in his bets with Grimsley.

The machine beeped, letting me know that my pokemon were healed. I released all of them, and they disappeared immediately, off to pursue their own interests. I turned back to my guest, momentarily distracted by the way the light glinted off his hair, sending blue highlights through it.

"So...to what purpose did you invite me in?" Grimsley asked, his attention fully on me. I fought the urge to look down. I hadn't had a reason; the offer had just slipped out.

"Umm..." He laughed, smirking at me.

"You didn't plan that, did you?" I hung my head.

"Well...no. Sorry. I just felt bad about leaving you in the corridor all the time." It was true. After all the times I'd shut the door in his face, it was a wonder he even came near my Room anymore.

"In that case...Since you prevented me from a battle today, how about we play a game instead?" His eyes danced, and I wondered if I was missing a private joke.

"What kind of game? This had better not be a be-"

"It's not a bet." He hurried to interrupt, an easy smile playing on his lips. "Just a friendly...competition. I'll even let you choose what we play. And there will be no stakes, I won't ask anything of you should you lose." He idly flicked the end of his scarf back over his shoulder. I thought about it for a moment, and grinned.

"Alright. Sounds fun," I clasped my hands behind my back. He gave me a crooked grin, the expression devastatingly handsome. I licked my lips, my throat suddenly dry.

"Excellent," he almost purred. "What shall we play?" I blinked, my thoughts scattered.

"Uhh..." Great, I was back to my usual inarticulate ways. I said the first thing I thought of. "How about a battle?"

...Well done, Shauntal. You _do_ remember he uses Dark types, is also an Elitist, and has beaten you in the past?

He tilted his head to the side, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Actually, I think I like that idea better." I almost asked what idea he'd been thinking of, but he continued talking before I had the chance. "It's been a long time since we've fought. Naturally you're a lot stronger now, and I'm sure you have strategies in place for fighting someone with a type advantage." He said it without doubt, as if he could not believe I _wouldn't_ have strategies. I felt my cheeks warm slightly at that belief. I wasn't used to praise from my colleagues, and I didn't know what I'd done to deserve that belief in my battling skills. Especially after my last horrific defeat.

"Of course I do," I felt a surge of conviction in myself, perhaps mirrored by his belief. I'd spent countless hours studying type advantages and their weaknesses. It would be nice to have a chance to test just how much better I'd gotten since our last fight.

My pokemon all reappeared next to me, and I recalled them to their respective pokeballs. I moved to one side of the room, turning to face my smirking opponent.

"Shall we do this?" He held up a pokeball.

"Bring it." I called, confident in myself for the first time in ages.

...

Next update will hopefully not take as long. Thanks for all the support guys, and for sticking around. I love you!

-Aerococonut


	7. Defeated

**A/N: **Kind of a short chapter this time, but I like it a lot. I may come back and fix bits later on, however. And this chapter has to be dedicated to my dear Serenity Searcher, simply because he and I think too much alike. Don't believe me? Go read his GrimsleyxShauntal fic when he submits it. It's absolutely fantastic. And from Grimsley's point of view, so you know it's win. Hugs and love to anyone who reviews, your reviews make my day!

**Expectations**

"Use Earthquake!" I commanded, Golurk immediately obliging by stomping the ground.

"Swagger," Grimsley immediately responded, confusing my pokemon and causing the move to miss. "Now use High Jump Kick."

"Damn," I muttered under my breath. "Quick, try and use Fly!" Golurk bent low and then threw himself into the air, narrowly avoiding getting hit. Scrafty kept going and crashed into the wall, leaving him momentarily stunned.

"Fly?" Grimsley said, his voice sounding offended at the use of an effective move against him. I couldn't help giggling at his expression. "Get out of the way!" He attempted to save Scrafty, but Golurk would not be denied.

_Slam!_

"Ouch." I flinched in sympathy as Golurk crashed straight down onto Scrafty, knocking him out. Grimsley sighed and recalled him.

"I always forget about your habit of attacking weaknesses," he groaned, choosing his next pokemon.

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean you keep forgetting? We've been battling every-odd day for the past week! My battle style doesn't change that quickly!" I planted my hands on my hips and glared at him as he sent out Liepard. He grinned at me, his eyes twinkling.

"Ah, but I continually defeat your pokemon, regardless of the moves you choose." It was my turn to groan and look away.

"Gee, thanks for the reminder." My win ratio was 0-7. But I still lived in hope. I was learning his fighting style, and I was determined to win at least one match in the near future.

Huh. Maybe that's why he and Marshal were always battling, even if Marshal usually won. It's a way to improve yourself...

"Aerial Ace," Grimsley instructed Liepard, the beautiful feline in movement before he could finish the command. She leapt gracefully into the air and pounced straight onto Golurk, finally toppling my monolithic pokemon. I switched him out, sending out Jellicent instead.

"Use Confuse Ray!" I called straightaway, Jellicent sending out rays of energy that threw off Liepard's thoughts.

"I hate that move." I heard Grimsley curse under his breath.

"Think of that as payback. I hate Swagger." Anything that gave my pokemon a status effect irritated me. "Jellicent, use Surf!"

He smiled bemusedly. "I believe we are even, then. Liepard, Sucker Punch."

I almost stamped my foot. "Stop. Using. That!" I glowered at him. Every match, he abused that move. I was sick of him attacking my pokemon before I had the chance to retaliate. He laughed, watching as Liepard's attack connected. I was sure he used it just because he knew how much it annoyed me. "Is that your only strategy? Using nothing but Sucker Punch?" Jellicent moved to the side and unleashed a wave of water.

He shrugged elegantly. "Why change what works? If your pokemon cannot attack me, it makes it all the harder for me to lose." Damn it, he was right. "Night Slash," he said, as I drew my attention back to the battle. I cringed as the super effective move collided with Jellicent, preventing her from battling anymore.

"Sorry," I mumbled as I returned her to her ball, cursing my momentary distraction. "I swear, I will beat you!" I proclaimed.

He had the gall to bow and smirk at me. "Very well then. I believe it's your move." He straightened, waiting for me to send out my next pokemon. Grumbling, I weighed my choices, before sending out Cofagrigus.

"Let's go, Cofagrigus! Use Shadow Ball!" Out of all my pokemon, Cofagrigus is the worst choice to fight him with, because her move set is entirely Ghost. I had nothing effective against a Dark type. However, that doesn't mean I don't have tricks up my sleeve...

He chuckled, and asked Liepard to use Night Slash again. Cofagrigus gave her eerie laugh and moved out of the way, letting a bewildered Liepard headbutt the wall. Unlike my other pokemon, Cofagrigus chose to interact with the landscape around her, often managing to win simply because she led her opponent to their own doom. It's the reason why her species are known as one of the scariest pokemon in the world.

"Spite." I laughed as Grimsley's smirk disappeared, his eyes narrowing. Due to her weakness against Dark-types, Cofagrigus usually doesn't last long in our matches. Which is why Grimsley doesn't know her full move set. Oh well, he was in for a nasty surprise. I wasn't kidding when I said she was a scary pokemon. This time, I was pulling out all the stops in this match, determined to win.

"What are you planning?" he asked curiously, as Liepard used Pursuit, since she was no longer able to use her most powerful move.

"Wait and see," I teased, nodding at Cofagrigus. "Ready girl?" She cackled, the sound causing Grimsley and his pokemon to shudder.

"That sound goes straight through me." He unclenched his hands, sweeping his hair back.

I smirked at him knowingly. "This is even better."

He frowned, as Cofagrigus started glowing. "This cannot be good," he sighed. Cofagrigus send a concentrated blast of energy at Liepard. The attack caused Cofagrigus to sink lower to the ground, weakened, while Liepard flicked her tail curiously, seemingly unaffected. Until she suddenly collapsed, panting. "What did you do?" he gasped, watching his pokemon struggle back to her feet.

"A move only a true Ghost can use. Curse." I answered, as Cofagrigus cackled again.

"Curse? I thought that only made a pokemon faster?"

I snickered to myself. It was a commonly held misconception. "Oh, for every other pokemon, maybe. But for a Ghost, it takes some of their health and curses their opponent, dooming them to slowly sink into unconsciousness."

He nodded slowly, his gaze flickering over to me, his expression thoughtful. "Hmm..." I wondered what he was thinking about. "Liepard!" She growled, obviously deteriorating. He sighed. "Can you manage Pursuit?" She shook herself off and leapt at Cofagrigus. I waited until a second before her move would land. I knew Cofagrigus wouldn't last much longer; she'd been losing even before I'd used Curse. I accepted her defeat, knowing she would take her attacker down with her.

"Destiny Bond." Liepard's move connected, and a cloud of dust rose. It cleared swiftly; leaving both pokemon fainted on the ground. "Return, Cofagrigus." I kissed her pokeball, congratulating her bravery. I turned back to the field –my Room- to find Grimsley staring at me.

"I am very eager to discover where you learned moves like that. I've never encountered anything like it before. A move that can drag an attacker down with you..." He trailed off, his expression puzzled. "But never mind that now. Bisharp, go!" I beamed, glad that my last pokemon was Chandelure. I had a habit of saving her until last.

"Let's go!" I called, and she happily materialized.

_Chrrrr_ she chimed, waving her arms, before launching an Inferno straight at Bisharp. Grimsley looked shocked; his pokemon hadn't even had a chance to move. I hid a smile behind my hand. Chandelure floated back to my side, giving Bisharp a chance to recover.

"What, no more Sucker Punch?" It probably wasn't a good idea to keep making snide comments; he still had two pokemon and I only had one. Not to mention that his other pokemon was Krookodile, who happens to know moves like Rock Slide.

Chandelure was in for a bad ride.

"Night Slash." His lips tilted up as Chandelure failed to dodge the attack.

"Fire Blast!" I commanded quickly. She switched directions suddenly, causing Bisharp to overshoot and slide on the wooden floor. She got lucky, and her attack was a direct hit, managing to defeat Bisharp.

"Well done," Grimsley said, sending out Krookodile. Internally, I wished that Chandelure could somehow learn a Water move. Or that Jellicent hadn't fallen earlier on. Unfortunately, wishing wasn't going to make it happen.

"And now, this is that time in novels referred to as the 'last stand'," I announced, earning another chuckle from my opponent. "A valiant, yet usually futile gesture that accepts the fact that you will lose, and your only goal is to take out as many of your attackers as you can."

He laughed openly. "Ah, conversation with you is always scintillating. Pray tell, how does this 'last stand' of yours end?" he teased, as Krookodile's Rock Slide connected with my poor partner. I sighed as she was struck again and again, eventually sinking to the floor.

"With defeat," I said hopelessly, walking over and kneeling next to her. "You did so well, we nearly had him this time," I stroked the warm metal-like texture of her arms, and then recalled her to her pokeball. "What does it take to beat you?" I asked plaintively. My voice was bordering on a whine, and I was immediately embarrassed. "Uhh..."

"Well, I would say more practice. I get more and more worried with every match. Truthfully, you are a very dangerous opponent. Your pokemon's unpredictability makes it hard to plan for a battle in advance, even with a type advantage. Especially when you pull moves like Curse." He glared momentarily, before returning to his usual calm. "So don't be disheartened. There's always tomorrow." He grinned, his unspoken offer hanging between us.

"Guess I'll just have to win tomorrow then. Same time?" He nodded, and I grinned. Tomorrow was mine.

...

I hummed under my breath, deciding to get something to eat- since it was nearly lunchtime-, when I almost ran into Marshal.

"Hey, watch it- oh, Shauntal. Hey! I've got a bone to pick with you," he told me, narrowing his eyes. I blinked and swallowed, desperately trying to remember whether or not I'd done something to him lately. My mind came up blank.

"Uhh...okay?" I shifted my weight backwards and looked up at him.

He glared for a moment, and huffed. "Will you share, already?"

I just stared at him, trying to puzzle out his words. "Umm...?" I left it hanging, hoping he would clarify his question.

Marshal crossed his arms. "I mean, come on! Grimsley's _my_ battle partner, not yours! My day isn't complete until I've kicked his ass, so stop monopolizing all his time! He hasn't battled me in the past _week._ Says his pokemon need a break after fighting yours. Not fair, Shauntal. You should learn to share!" His frown slipped as he watched me lean against the wall. "Hey, what are you laughing at?"

Bracing myself against the wall, I couldn't hold back my giggling. "Did...did you hear what you just said? You sound so jealous! I've fought him for all of a week, and you accuse me of _stealing him away?_ Marshal, that's just ridiculous!" I managed to regain control of myself.

Marshal glared at me, and then his lips quirked. "Yeah...okay that did sound stupid. Sorry. I should be glad that you've decided to hang out with us more, not angry. But hey! I'm easygoing, so I suggest we take it in turns for Grimsley!"

I sniggered again, unable to help myself. "You really should be careful about your wording, Marshal." Either that or I should get my mind out of the gutter.

"What do you mean? I'm just saying we should share!"

"You're getting worse! Stop talking!" I bit my bottom lip to stop myself bursting out laughing.

"Shauntal! It's not that hard-"

That was it. I collapsed on the ground, laughing so hard I was almost crying.

"There's something seriously wrong with you, you crazy girl." Marshal leaned over, complete confusion on his face. I just shook my head. "I don't get it! I'm trying to have a normal conversation with you, and you just decide to lose it. Seriously Shauntal, what the hell?"

"What's going on?" Grimsley's voice asked somewhat worriedly from above me.

I managed to wave a hand, rubbing my other one under my eyes. "Nothing, nothing." I stood up hurriedly. "I'm about to get lunch, so I'll talk later. Bye!" I ducked past Marshal and moved quickly away. I could feel two pairs of eyes follow me.

"She is so _weird!_" I heard Marshal mutter under his breath as I turned the corner.

Snickering, I walked into the restaurant to find Caitlin already seated.

"Hi, Caitlin," I smiled, replaying the conversation in my head. She raised one perfect eyebrow.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Her voice was perfectly level; although I was sure she was curious underneath her mask.

"Yep." Two could play that game. I waited patiently, arranging the knife and fork neatly on the side of the table.

"So...are you going to share?" I rested my head against my palm and laughed. Of all the ways she could have opened... "Shauntal, really!" She sounded scandalized. I seemed to be getting a lot of that lately...

I reigned myself in and took a deep breath. "Hmm, maybe." I wasn't ready to replay my conversation with Marshal, so I decided to throw her off topic. "Alright, I just had a fascinating chat with Marshal. He says you're cute." I said off-handedly.

Her face actually went red. "Shauntal! What? Why? Why would you talk about me like that? What possessed you to bring up that topic of conversation? I-he does not! Cute, hardly!"

I was astounded, staring at her open-mouthed. I'd said that just so I wouldn't have to repeat my conversation with Marshal, but apparently my wild guess wasn't so far off. I'd had an inkling that Caitlin may have looked at Marshal _like that_, but her obviously defensive behaviour kind of proved it. I blinked and shut my mouth.

She deflated suddenly, looking away. "You were just guessing, weren't you?" she asked shamefacedly.

I nodded blankly, wondering just how much I had missed, being locked in my room all the time. "...Yeah. I mean, I kind of _thought_...but... seriously? Marshal?" I couldn't fathom it. "I mean...really?" She glared at me suddenly, and I felt a shiver of apprehension run down my spine.

"Don't be all righteous with me! I've seen the way you look at Grimsley!"

Ouch. I was so busted. I should have left well enough alone. "...What way?" Yes, play innocent. That could work.

She smirked, the expression so unusually evil-looking for her that I gulped. "Playing innocent, are we? Fine, I won't mention the frequent looking away, avoiding him, staring at him when he isn't looking, or the fact that you blush like a schoolgirl whenever he so much as says hello."

I let my forehead rest against the table. Crap. Caitlin's far more observant than I ever knew. Or maybe it's just intuition. No wait, she's psychic. I wondered idly if she could read my thoughts.

"No."

"What?" I sat up abruptly, staring wildly at her. That...that wasn't...

"I won't play this game with you. You know about me...and I know about you. So...let's just let this drop, please?" She was actually begging me! Well, I suppose Marshal would never let her live it down if she admitted anything out loud.

"Alright. I swear to never say anything I may or may not have discovered today out loud. How about you?" I held out my hand, and she grasped it softly.

"I swear to never reveal anything either." We shook hands, and both of us breathed a sigh of relief. I tried my best to move my thoughts away from her revelation, but I just couldn't wrap the idea around my head. Caitlin...and Marshal. The other obvious thought there was...

Time to distract myself.

"We're hopeless." I groaned, chuckling to myself.

Caitlin smiled ruefully at me. "I agree. And we can't ever tell them, because our male colleagues already have large enough egos. They don't need the inflation of knowing we...admire them."

"Admire. Excellent choice of word. It's like...fine art. Pretty to look at, but you can only _admire_ it from afar." I nodded sagely, lacing my fingers together against the edge of the table.

"Fine art. That's it. We're just...appreciating what's there, yes?" I snickered, and she shot me a sheepish grin.

We laughed together for a few minutes, before the situation intruded again.

"Very well. Later on, it might be nice to have the whole girls-only talk about the men and our...admiration. But for now...I'm too embarrassed. I think I might retire now." She stood up hurriedly, and I let her go.

She wasn't the only one embarrassed. I couldn't believe I'd been so transparent. What if Grimsley had noticed?

Oh shoot me now. Where's a curtain rod when you need one? ...No, that was terrible. I refuse to mention that again.

I finished my meal alone and meandered back to my room. I didn't have anything planned for the rest of the day, so I wanted to go and laze around. Maybe read some of the new books I'd bought a couple of days ago.

Yawning, I went and collapsed on my large pile of beanbags, book in hand.

_Chrrrr_ Chandelure announced, materializing in front of me.

She sounded like she does whenever we're preparing to battle. "No, no battle now. I'm reading. You know, relaxing, taking a break."

_Chrrrrrrrr_ she said more insistently.

I waved her off. "Go challenge one of the others! We battled before, don't you want a break?" She gave her version of a huff and blew a wisp of flame in my face. Obviously I was missing her point. "If you're that bored, go do something or...something."

_Chrr chrr chrrr!_

"Chandelure! What is your problem?" I sat bolt upright, glaring at her. "I'm trying to read here! I-"

_Chhhhr!_ She disappeared suddenly. I slapped a hand to my forehead and groaned. Pokemon! Who the hell can understand them? I've known her for _years_ and I still don't understand her all the time. Oh well, she'll find a way to tell me whatever she wanted me to know.

I picked up my book and let my mind disappear into another world, deciding that my own could wait for a few hours.

...

Chandelure have become one of my all time favourite pokemon. Just sayin'.

-Aerococonut


	8. Flushed

**A/N: **Hey guys, thank you so much for all the lovely feedback I keep getting. Your reviews make my day! Also...I started writing _Exp_ from Grimsley's side of things, so I was wondering if I should submit it here, or perhaps wait till after Exp is finished. Otherwise, I shall just continue to write the stories I already have going. My dear friend Serenity Searcher finished his story _Shell of the Ghost,_ which I highly recommend reading. There's a link in my favourites!

...

**Expectations**

I ended up reading for so long, that by the time I dragged myself away, it was almost eleven at night.

"Holy sh- Wow, I was completely out of it," I mumbled, a yawn taking me by surprise. And then my stomach decided to rumble, reminding me that I hadn't actually eaten anything since lunch. Usually, I don't need much to eat, but apparently my battles with Grimsley were making me hungrier than normal. Guess it's the actual training –real physical exercise- I've been doing, instead of...not. At least my battling skills were improving, and my Pokemon were greatly enjoying the chance to show off their skills. Chandelure, especially, had been rather more energetic as of late. She'd all but demanded we battle every spare minute of the day.

Finally dragging myself off my collection of beanbags, I went and called up for food– being too tired and lazy to walk out and get it. It arrived promptly, and I shovelled it down and went to bed.

It felt like minutes later when I opened my eyes, but my clock said it was eight in the morning. I wanted to stay in bed longer, but the others usually ate breakfast around this time, and I wanted to be ready for my eighth match against Grimsley. It was nice to talk to other people for a change, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed 'hanging out' with the other Elitists.

...If I lost this fight, I was going to start challenging Caitlin instead. It'd be nice to win for once.

I was the first one at the restaurant, causing me to wonder if I'd missed them, but Caitlin appeared shortly afterwards and came over to join me.

"Good morning," she said, covering her mouth as a yawn threatened to overcome her.

"Morning," I smiled. Caitlin wasn't really awake until at least noon.

A commotion at the door caused me to look up, in time to see Grimsley whack Marshal on the shoulder.

"Jerk," Grimsley muttered under his breath.

I blinked and stared at him. "Wow, I- that'sgot to be the most...colloquial thing I've heard you say! I mean...it's just so...uncultured for you." I shut up, realizing that I sounded like an idiot as they joined us at the table.

Marshal snickered, wiggling his eyebrows. "Ah, but you only ever see him when he's acting like a prissy bastard. When there's no women around, he acts like any other guy. Not to mention he calls me 'jerk' at least three times a day."

I absorbed this knowledge, surprised to discover a different side of my colleague.

"..._Prissy bastard?"_ His tone was low and threatening.

Marshal glared, narrowing his eyes. "Yeah, that's right, you heard me. Prissy. Bastard. Oh, and I should probably have added in arrogant...not to mention-"

"Have we decided to lose all our manners this morning, Marshal?"

Marshal pulled a strange face and poked the air in front of him. He raised his voice, and mockingly repeated Grimsley's words.

"That sounded nothing like my voice," Grimsley informed him, glaring.

"Wanna bet?" Marshal cracked his knuckles threateningly. "Because I'm sure I could take you in a fight. It's not like you're-"

"I can't breathe around all the testosterone in the room," I announced loudly, standing up. I received three dumbfounded looks from my colleagues.

Next to me, Caitlin giggled. I turned to her, as she immediately drew a shutter over her emotions. I rested both of my hands against the table. "Something funny?" I asked, sitting back down suddenly, as the two men finally joined us at the table. Marshal immediately got his cereal-on-toast, causing Caitlin to shudder delicately, before returning her attention to me.

She smiled secretively. "Oh, you know Shauntal, just that I found your words amusing."

Feeling mildly irritated –I was obviously missing the joke-, I picked up my fork and twirled it in midair. "Were they just, cutie?" I said deliberately, making sure she knew what I was referring to. She shot me a look of pure horror and opened her mouth to speak. I raised an eyebrow, and she shut her mouth quickly, apparently deciding to leave it the way it was.

"Hmm, so Shauntal, you swing that way, huh?" Marshal was grinning from ear to ear, and I groaned when I got what he was saying.

"No, moron. Inside joke. Go back to your cereal-on-toast." I waved a hand dismissively, as he shrugged towards Grimsley, his smirk knowing.

Yeah, breakfast was always a whole heap of fun.

...

"Come on, come on, don't let him get you- No!" I groaned as Golurk fell. "Oh for the love of- Golurk, return to me." I gritted my teeth in annoyance, quickly reshuffling my strategy. "Alright, let's go Cofagrigus."

I was doomed. I'd taken a chance and sent out Chandelure earlier, and it was coming back to bite me in the butt with a vengeance.

"Faint Attack," Grimsley commanded yet again, and with his luck, took out Cofagrigus with one shot.

"That's it. I refuse to battle you anymore!" I held out the pokeball and returned my valiant friend. "I'm utterly sick of losing. I think if the urge to battle strikes, I'll go fight Caitlin. Thank you for the entertainment, but I won't be needing it any longer." I blew my bangs upwards in resignation. "It was fun though," I added as an afterthought, placing my Pokemon in the healing machine.

"Does this mean you no longer wish to battle me again?" Grimsley actually sounded disappointed.

I gulped and realized my words were kind of... nasty sounding. My temper tends to get in the way of my intelligence sometimes. "Err...I didn't mean it like that. Just that...well..." I bit my lip, trying to think of something intelligent to say.

"That you believe you are lacking in battle skills, simply because you lost?"

How did he know that? "Yeah, that sounds about right." I admitted, locking my fingers behind my back.

I was surprised when he suddenly laughed. "Shauntal...do you know how many battles it took me to beat Marshal the first time?"

"Uhh..." I had no idea. Since I first started here, they'd always battled. Sometimes Marshal won, sometimes Grimsley did. I'd never thought about their beginnings.

He shifted his weight almost...nervously and ran a hand through his hair. ...Was that a faint hint of pink that flushed his cheeks? "I lost twenty-seven times in a row."

Blinking, I tried to process that. "Are you serious? Twenty-seven times?" He nodded, smiling ruefully. "I-wow. Why did you keep battling him if he kept beating you?"

"I wanted to win," he answered simply. "I decided I wanted to become a stronger trainer, and to do that I had to learn to win with a type disadvantage against another strong trainer. In much the same way that you've agreed to fight me eight times in a row, regardless of the outcome, I kept challenging Marshal until I won."

"Oh...well I guess I can't complain then, can I? Just makes me sound like a child throwing a temper tantrum."I mumbled the last bit as I toyed with the edge of my skirt, staring at the floor.

...At least I wasn't throwing things like I used to when I was a child. Or shattering glass, wrecking the walls and destroying the lights, like Caitlin does when she's mad...

"So does this mean I can challenge you again tomorrow?"

I snapped out of my thoughts. "Well, I've still got nineteen chances to beat your record, so I suppose I should get cracking. How about in the afternoon then?" I could go ask Caitlin what strategies she had for fighting against a type advantage.

"That sounds wonderful." He smiled, before a mischievous look crossed his face.

"What was that look for?" Crossing my arms, I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Nothing important, don't worry Shauntal. Anyways, I'll see you later. I need to go collect something..." He raised a hand and went to leave.

Collect what? I frowned. No way. "You better not have bet on me!" I yelled after him, as he shut the door. "Hey!" I huffed and walked over to my pile of beanbags. As I did so, my Pokemon all materialized back out of their balls, fully healed. "Do as you will," I said, waving a hand and I picked up the book I was halfway through and sitting down. I really should be working on my _own_ stories, but I just couldn't be bothered at that moment.

_Chrrr?_ Chandelure floated closer to me, and then over to my bookshelf.

"What? You want to read something, is that it?" She hummed loudly, and I groaned and stood back up. "You could have asked before I sat down. Now, which one do you want?" She blew a wisp of flame at the one she wanted, and I plucked it from the shelf. She moved over to a section of floor next to my beanbags and hovered an inch from the ground. "Alright, here you go." I opened the front cover and placed the book on the floor.

A little known fact: my Pokemon can read. Or at least, Chandelure can. As long as I put the book somewhere she can blow the pages over, she actually reads them. How much of it is comprehended, I'm not sure, but she picks different ones, so I guess they make sense.

_Chriiiiin_.

"Welcome," I smiled, sitting back down.

...

It was late afternoon by the time I finally went to visit Caitlin.

"I need a favour," I pleaded the minute she opened the door.

"Why hello, Shauntal. What a pleasure. Would you like to come in?" She quirked an eyebrow and snickered.

"Err, right. Sorry. Hi Caitlin, can I come in? I'd love to talk to you, if you're not busy." I clasped my hands together and waited.

"I suppose I have a few minutes to spare," she said, hiding a smile.

"Great. Because I would love some tips on how to beat Grimsley."

She stopped walking behind me, and I turned to see lines puckering her usually smooth brow. "And why do you think I have any idea on how to win against him?"

"Well, because you've been here longer than me, and you also have a type disadvantage? Come on Caitlin, surely you have _some_ idea?" I wondered if getting down on my knees would help my case.

"I've battled him a grand total of five times, and lost every one. Now, I prefer to train alone."

"That's terrible! You're no help at all. What the hell am _I_ supposed to do then? He's got the type advantage, experience and a superior battling style. What have I got?"

Caitlin pulled me over to her massive divan. "Why does this matter so much to you?" she asked as we sat down.

"I-" I blinked. Why _did_ it matter? "Well...because... I don't want to keep losing?" It came out like a question.

"Is that your only reason?" She smoothed out her dress and tucked her legs up.

"I don't know," I said slowly, trying to figure it out for myself. "What about you, why do you battle?"

She sighed. "To prove that I can stand on my own; that I'm not just a pretty heiress with nothing between her ears." Caitlin said softly, looking down.

"That's..." I wasn't sure how to finish without sounding callous. It was a far, _far_ better reason than my own selfish one.

"I was tired of being called a monster because I had no handle on my temper. People believed I was uncontrollable, because I could never do anything for myself; never battle anyone without flying into a rage when I lost. So I came here and joined the Elite Four. I chose to train on my own, after I tried a couple of times to accept my losses gracefully, but I couldn't do it. It's not fair on the others to fight them when they get...attacked...for no other reason than winning. I don't want to be seen as that person anymore."

"Oh..." I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just gave her a hug. "You know... I really admire you." And it was true, though I'd never acknowledged it out loud before.

"That's a nice thing to say, Shauntal, but you don't really mean it." She didn't sound judgemental, just resigned.

"I do! I mean, you're always so self-possessed, calm and elegant. I feel like an awkward, gangly kid next to you! Not to mention your sheer strength in overcoming your temper issues. You learnt how to control your powers. That's amazing to me. About the only thing I'm good at is telling stories." I shrugged, leaning back to look at her.

She smiled softly, shaking her head. "It wasn't that hard, and you know that's not true. You're an Elite, that naturally makes you a good battler as well, and there's other things you can do well."

"Heh, alright then. If you say so." I studied the mass of long, golden blonde hair and absently picked up a chunk, before beginning to braid it.

"What are you doing?" Caitlin asked curiously.

I blinked and let it drop. "Sorry. You hair fascinates me. There's just so..._much_ of it. Don't you ever braid it up, or have all those incredible hairstyles you can only have with long hair?"

She shook her head. "No. It's too much effort to do it by myself, and I haven't the patience."

"That's a shame," I said, wistfully. I've never, ever had hair longer than my shoulder blades, and even then it used to annoy me. I hate having to look after long hair, although I like the way it looks.

"Well...maybe you could braid it for me now?" Caitlin offered, raising an arm and collecting all her hair over her shoulder. "Give me a beautiful hairstyle for today." She gracefully stood up and manifested a hairbrush from one of her cupboards. "There you go, have fun," she laughed, sitting back down –on the floor- in front of me.

I ran the brush through her hair, my mind immediately comparing her to the fairytale princess with obscenely long hair she threw out of a tower every day.

Eventually though, I'd braided it all up into one long strand, and tied it off with the ribbon Caitlin made appear from somewhere. It was so soothing to just do something so...mundane for once. I said as much, as she admired my handiwork.

"Your turn," she said unexpectedly, standing and stretching like a contented feline.

"I-what? My hair's too short to do anything with, Caitlin," I snorted, handing her back the brush.

"Sit!" she commanded, and I was so surprised I did without arguing. "Just because I can't braid –at all- doesn't mean I can't brush it for you. Friends do that for each other, don't they?"

I closed my eyes. "Thank you, Caitlin."

The sensation of having your hair brushed is incredibly relaxing. So without even realizing it, I slowly drifted off to sleep.

Only to be woken abruptly by Marshal's voice.

"Aww, c'mon Caitlin!"

I groaned and stretched, loosening my muscles. "What?" I asked groggily, blinking at the light.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Marshal demanded, turning his attention to me.

I had to think for a minute, before I remembered where I was and why I was there. "Oh, I came to talk to Caitlin." I beamed.

"Okay...you came to talk. Now, why were you asleep?" He crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.

"Mmm 'cause I was really comfortable," I said around a yawn. "Or I was, until you came in and started yelling."

"He wants to battle me, and decided to barge in uninvited."

"Yeah well, it's not like you two emerge all that often. We kinda have to come looking for you!" He defended himself.

Caitlin raised an eyebrow. "We?" she inquired in a low tone.

"Well, yeah! How else do you expect us to get your attention? Now, do you want to battle?" He changed topic, swiftly returning to what he wanted to know and ignoring Caitlin's question.

"No, I do not. Goodbye." Caitlin glared at him, her fists clenched at her sides.

"Hey, you know, I can leave. I wasn't doing much anyway." I held up my hands and started backing away. I wasn't going to get in the middle of their fight. "I'm happy to leave you two to your discussion." I smirked to myself as a terrible idea raised its head. "You should battle him, Caitlin."

She turned to me and stared. "I said no."

"Yeah, but think about it. It'll give you a chance to improve your battling skills, like you said! And think about it, _cutie_; about what _else_ you'll be doing while you're battling...and afterwards!" I giggled, unable to help myself.

Her expression showed outright horror as she glanced to Marshal and back to me. "No, Shauntal, you have no idea what you're talking about!" Her cheeks started to turn pink.

"Sure I do. You admitted it yourself. Why not take this chance, since it's offered so freely by the other side? Obviously he's interested!" I clapped my hands together. "You should go for it, and have a little fun!"

"Goodbye, Shauntal!" She all but shrieked, and I started laughing, walking over to the door.

"What are you going on about?" Marshal was utterly confused.

I giggled and waved as I shut the door to Caitlin's protests.

...

"Fire Blast! This is it, girl, c'mon, we can do this!" Chandelure's attack connected, and Liepard sustained heavy damage. "That's a girl!" I jumped up and down, my excitement too great. This was the closest I'd come to victory so far.

Grimsley laughed. "Was that your best shot?" he taunted. "Liepard, use Pursuit!"

"Oh hell, quick dodge!" My beloved partner barely managed to avoid the attack. "That's a girl, c'mon, we're so close! Use Overheat!" I shrieked, as Chandelure's move finally succeeded in taking down his Liepard. I just stood there, not quite believing my eyes. "Hey wait...I just won."

"You did indeed. It was an excellent match," he said as he recalled Liepard. "Well done, my friend,' he whispered against the pokeball.

"No way. I won. Victory is at long last mine!" I shouted gleefully, spinning around and around. "I won! I-whoa!" I stopped dead as the world was reduced to nothing but a blur of colours. "Crap!" I blinked and squinted, trying to convince the world to become clear again. I carefully sank to my knees and tried to find my glasses.

"Don't move." I could vaguely see Grimsley kneel in front of me. "Are these what you're looking for?" he asked quietly, as he held up a splash of pink.

"Maybe. I don't know, I can't really see anything at the moment," I laughed nervously.

"Perhaps this might help." His voice sounded slightly uneven as he gently slid my glasses back onto my face and freed the strands of my hair that were trapped against them.

The world immediately returned to clarity. "Definitely, uh, thank you." My cheeks were flaming as I saw his face was mere inches from my own. "Uhh, thank you for the battle!" My voice was higher than normal as I leapt up.

"You're welcome." He slowly stood up. "Do you still wish to battle tomorrow?"

"Mm, maybe we could have a break for a couple of days. Marshal's starting to feel neglected, you know. And I think I want to challenge Caitlin for a change. You've inspired me to improve my battling skills. What do you say?"

"Sounds like fun," he smirked.

"Okay, well, I'll see you later, then." I ducked my head, knowing my cheeks were still red.

"Will you be appearing for dinner?"

I frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"

He laughed and shook his head slowly. "Never mind. I'll see you later, Shauntal."

I watched him disappear, and lifted a hand to my cheeks, where his fingers had brushed them to return my glasses; still sure I could feel an imprint.

_Chrrrr._ Chandelure chucked her opinion in. She gave her version of a chuckle and disappeared again.

"Yeah, I do have problems." I answered.

...

Until next time, my friends!

-Aerococonut


	9. Confessed

**A/N:** Here we go! The end is now (although not the end of my fanfictions about these four crazies). Hope you enjoy the last chapter of _Expectations. _

...

**Expectations**

I stood at the large, double doors to Caitlin's room and sighed for the ninety-ninth time this morning.

"Oh for the love of Ghosts, it's nearly ten-thirty. Why isn't she awake yet?" I knocked on the door for the hundredth time, only to be met with silence. "She has a serious freaking problem!" I was dying to know what had happened in her battle against Marshal. "Fine, I'll come back later. Again!" I said to the door and went to occupy myself.

"Talking to yourself is a sign of madness, you know," Marshal announced suddenly, scaring the crap out of me.

"Yeargh! Marshal!" I placed a hand over my heart, feeling it race. "Gah," I slumped back against the wall as laughter overtook him.

"Got ya! You should have seen how high you jumped! Hahahaha, that was awesome." He punched the air and snickered. I glared fiercely at him, imagining stabbing him with my pen. He noticed my glare and smiled apologetically. "Aww, c'mon Shauntal, you know it's harmless fun. Besides, it's not like Caitlin was answering or anything." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

I couldn't help smiling as I shrugged and started walking away. "So, since I can't ask Caitlin, I'll have to ask you. How did the battle go?"

Marshal bounded up next to me. "Great! Although it was kind of...boring. Caitlin didn't really put up a fight. I think she was annoyed that you made her do it, so she wasn't really trying."

I blinked. "Hmm, okay then." I wondered if Caitlin had deliberately lost. Since she had the type advantage, we usually assumed she would win against Marshal. "Well, sounds like you still had fun."

"Yeah, it was pretty good. Wasn't as good as beating Grimsley though. Him I can insult. I can't really insult Caitlin, she's too..." Marshal trailed off, thinking of a way to describe her. "You know...ladylike? Perfect? Well-raised...kind of? It just doesn't seem right to insult her."

"But Grimsley's fair game?" I couldn't help stating.

"Of course! It's normal to taunt your opponent during a battle." That was true enough in most cases. If your opponent was too intimidated to make the right calls, the battle was yours.

"Hey Marshal..." Caitlin was going to kill me for interfering, but I was willing to take the risk.

"Mmm?" He looked down at me and waited.

I thought quickly about the way I wanted to phrase my question without making my intent obvious.

Though, it _was_ Marshal. He's about as subtle as a brick to the face.

"I was just wondering...what do you think of Caitlin?" I asked slowly, making my voice neutral to hide my interest in his answer.

The Fighting-trainer frowned. "Of Caitlin?" He ran a hand over his head. "I guess...she's really formal, you know? I feel like I don't belong near her because she's so upper-class. I know she's a good trainer, even if she seems really emotionless sometimes. But that's just because she has really strong psychic powers. So does she keep all her emotions locked away?" Marshal raised his hands to emphasise his points. "I just don't...really understand her, I guess. You, on the other hand, are more like me."

I was taken aback, both by the sudden switch to myself, and the longest speech I've ever head Marshal make. "Uhh..."

Marshal grinned. "I mean, come on! At first, we all thought you were too quiet and shy to want to talk, but really we were the ones creating all the distance. Now though, we know you better. You're energetic and cheerful; you're really fun to be around, very passionate and full of crazy ideas. Plus, you can dish out insults as well as I can. You're similar to me, unlike Caitlin. I wish she was easier to understand. I'd like to know her better." Was his voice almost wistful?

For some reason, my mouth disconnected from my brain, and I found myself saying, "She likes you." I gulped when I realized I'd said that out loud.

Caitlin was going to roast me on a spit.

"Yeah, I know she does, but it's in that way someone who doesn't have a choice does. It's like, close proximity. She has no choice but to put up with me if she wants to stay." He shrugged as if it didn't matter to him, but I noticed that he didn't meet my gaze.

Now, if I was an intelligent, sensible person, I would take the out-clause just offered to me, since Marshal had misunderstood my question.

Three guesses what path I chose.

"She _likes,_ likes you. As in, romantic-partners-like. Even though you're brash and hasty and her complete opposite, Caitlin _likes_ you. She's just too afraid to say it out loud, because it's not like her to bare her feelings!" I put my hands on my hips and stared him down, making sure there was no damn way he could misunderstand my meaning this time.

Marshal's jaw dropped. He opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times, the expression making him look like a floundering Stunfisk. "She what?" he finally managed to gasp out.

"You like her too, don't you?" From his earlier statement, I was pretty sure by this point, but I wanted him to clarify.

"Well, yeah, but that's- I mean, she- She really thinks that about me? I mean, I'm not the most attractive guy..." He looked so lost I had the irrational urge to pat him on the head.

"Yes, she does think you're attractive, she admitted it herself. However, she's not going to do anything about it. You have to make the first move." I turned to face him and pointed back in the direction we'd come from. "So I say you man up and go tell her straight up. Otherwise, you're never going to get anywhere!" I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow.

Marshal looked too shocked to move. His expression was torn, but eventually he nodded and started walking back towards Caitlin's door. "Alright, but I swear, if you're wrong..."

"I'm not, please. Romance novelist, remember?" His knowing expression caused me to frown. "What?"

"Oh nothing. For a romance novelist, you can't see what's in front of your own eyes."

"What does that mean?" My voice was low. If he had sense, he'd shut up and leave now.

Marshal smirked without malice. "You lecture me about making the first move, and yet here you are, blatantly ignoring Grimsley's interest in you."

I stopped dead. "I told you before; you're full of crap Marshal. He's done nothing but be perfectly polite to me; that's hardly an expression of interest."

"He kissed you, remember?"

"You _forced _him to do that, remember?"

"Only because I knew how he felt."

"Only because you're an awful, interfering moron!"

"And you weren't doing that just before?"

"Well..." I blinked. He was right; I had been doing the same thing. I tried to justify myself. "You both have a mutual attraction and interest in each other. Even a half-blind person like myself can see it, and I used to spend all my time in my Room. So, rather than have two of my colleagues wallowing in their own self-pity-" okay, I was exaggerating "-I decided to help. That means you should shut up and go find Caitlin."

Marshal frowned. "Right. Wallowing in self-pity. 'Cause that was totally what _I_ was doing. I'm sure I could name another person who was-"

"GET OFF THE TOPIC!" I glared at him, wondering why he was so desperate to press the issue.

He looked taken aback, until realization dawned in his eyes. "You...you actually don't feel that way about him, do you? Wow, crap! I was totally off. I'm so sorry Shauntal, I thought you liked him too, and were just too shy to say anything. Damn, I fail at reading people. My bad." My mouth fell open, but nothing came out. "Okay, I can see why you were getting annoyed at me. Now, I promise to completely drop the topic."

"I do like him."

Four whole seconds passed before my brain caught up to my mouth.

Marshal turned to me with a funny look on his face. "...Now I'm really confused. If you do like him, why did you protest so loudly when I made him kiss you?"

"You're so freaking dense! How do _you_ think being the subject of a bet was? I don't want to be kissed because I'm some kind of _prize;_ I want to be kissed because somebody _wanted _to. You moron! I should have slapped you instead." I took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

"So...a mutual attraction and interest was it?"

So help me, I was going to beat him with something heavy. I _loathe_ having my words thrown back in my face.

"Two completely different scenarios!" I drew myself up and glared fiercely.

Marshal leaned against the wall, since we'd stopped walking to argue. "Riiiiiiight. Completely different, huh? Because I could have sworn you said that 'rather than have two of my colleagues wallowing in their own self-pity-'. Doesn't that same situation apply here?" He was grinning widely, the jerk.

"No, it doesn't! You and Caitlin are totally different to Grimsley and I! For starters, last I checked, Caitlin wasn't a devastatingly good-looking, rich, powerful, different-woman-a-night-Elitist! How the hell can someone like that ever be interested in the plain, creepy, shy, painfully awkward novelist!"

"Easily," a new voice answered. A soft, well-cultured voice that just happened to belong to the other person I had just described.

Any minute now...

Any minute...

Oh floor, why are you not opening and swallowing me whole?

"Uhh..." I had no idea what to say. All of my extensive vocabulary had disappeared.

"This couldn't have worked out better, I think." Marshal announced into the silence. "However, I'm going to leave you two to work it out now. I need to go see a certain Psychic-user." He left quickly, leaving me hyper-aware of the man now standing next to me.

I slowly turned to face Grimsley, biting my lip in anticipation. His expression was bemused, and he waved a hand, indicating I should talk.

"...How...How much of that did you hear?" I whispered.

"I believe it was the last few sentences you spoke. I'd repeat it, but I can't recall all of the words you used." He raised an eyebrow.

My gaze dropped to the floor. "Right. Well..." What the hell was I supposed to say?

"You're wrong you know." His voice was quiet, and when I looked up, he wasn't looking at me, but off to the side. "About being plain. There are very few pale-skinned, purple haired women around, which automatically makes you stand out. Also, choosing to use Ghost Pokemon does not make you creepy." His gaze suddenly flicked back to me, and he frowned slightly. "All people have moments of shyness, and you are not shy. Not to us, at least. As for painfully awkward...you have not seen painfully awkward until you watch Caitlin attempt to dance. Believe me." I just stood there, unable to handle the compliments and the suddenness of their delivery. "Have I missed anything? Because I'm not sure if 'novelist' actually counts as an insult..." He trailed off and studied me.

I was probably still doing my best Magikarp impression.

Shauntal, now would be an excellent time to say something intelligent and mature.

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

Oh for Ghost's sake...

His lips quirked into a smile. "'Pretty' is a very lacking term. Beautiful, exotic and striking are better adjectives." He took a step towards me. "Shauntal... I realize that my behaviour towards you has been-"

"I like you too. Maybe it took me a while, seeing as how I had to have _Marshal_ explain it to-"

My words were interrupted by his hand gently tilting my head up to meet his.

"You talk too much," he said, and claimed my lips with his own.

For once, I wasn't frozen in shock, and had the presence of mind to _kiss him back._

"Okay," I moved away slightly to catch my breath. "Less talking, then?"

"Sounds perfect to me," he responded, and captured my breath again.

... ... ...

_Two months later..._

"What were you saying?" I asked dazedly, pulling myself out of my dream world and back into the real world, although there was no longer much difference between the two.

His chuckle rumbled through my back. "My beautiful novelist, always lost in her fantasy worlds. I was asking if you wanted anything to eat."

I smiled contentedly and leaned back. He rested his chin against my head, his arms encircling my waist. "I'm just fine how I am, thank you."

My blissful interlude was ruined by a noisy shout. "Shauntal! Grimsley! Stop making out and come here!"

Grimsley huffed and I could almost _feel_ his eyes narrow. "He has no decency whatsoever."

"Kind of makes me wonder how the hell he and Caitlin get along so well." Sure enough, the two of them were happily together, something which still boggled my mind, even though I was the one who'd convinced them to get together.

Marshal appeared, and hurriedly came over to us. "Right. So, I'm the strongest Elitist, yeah?"

I couldn't help laughing, as Caitlin joined us.

His expression indignant, Marshal punched his fist into his palm. "Hey, I train the longest, and my mentor is Alder. You can't claim that!"

"And yet, I can quite easily beat you." Grimsley laughed. "Even against a type disadvantage. Since I have a type advantage against my other two Elitists, and can defeat them both-" I elbowed him. "Sorry, love. Anyways, wouldn't that make me the strongest?"

"Not necessarily. My Pokemon, although often at a disadvantage, have powerful moves and can withstand heavy attacks."

"That's so pathetic. Even with your overpowered moves, I can still beat you. You're not the strongest!" Marshal was adamant in this; regardless of the fact that his girlfriend was glaring daggers at him.

"I guess I win!" I announced loudly, earning total silence.

"How do you figure that?" Marshal smirked and waited.

I smiled sweetly at him. "Well, since you three will take each other out, I'll be the last one standing. Process of elimination. That doesn't make me the strongest Elitist; just the smartest. By default, I'd win, no strength required."

"I'll pay that. Can't fault that logic." We all grinned and stood up to greet the new arrival. Alder waved a hand and laughed. "My Shaunie girl, the strongest Elitist."

"That's me!" I said cheerily, hugging him. The other three all gave their greetings, and we turned to go inside.

"So..." Alder started, when we'd sat down. "What's with this sudden pairing up?"

All four of us blinked. It had become the normal for us; we hadn't even though about Alder not knowing.

"Well, you see-"

"Due to a long-"

"Aww man, it goes-"

"I don't even know-"

We all started talking at once, causing Alder to cringe and hold up a hand. "One at a time!"

Eventually, we managed to fill him on everything that had happened since his last visit.

"Can't say I saw that coming," Alder said slowly, as he leaned back in his chair. "Still, as long as you're happy, I'm glad. However..." Here he turned to Grimsley and his expression became truly frightening. "If you do anything to hurt Shaunie, I will tear you apart, got that?"

"Yes sir," Grimsley said meekly, and I couldn't help giggling at his submissiveness. Marshal was in gales of laughter, and even Caitlin hid a smile behind her hand.

A few hours later, I was lying on my pile of beanbags and thinking over all the events that had led to this point. There had been some good things, some awful things –I do not recommend being hit in the head by a curtain pole-, and some downright strange things. Still, that was just how life went. I smiled as I realized that joining the Elite Four might have been the best decision I'd ever made.

Inspiration suddenly struck me, and I went to fetch one of my many blank notebooks.

I'd never been the type to have a diary; reading my own thoughts seemed kind of pathetic, but this wasn't going to be a diary.

It was going to be a story. My story, for no one else but me. Maybe not my entire life story, (because let's face it, it's not that exciting) but maybe just an account of the memories I wanted to keep forever.

All the memories: good, bad and weird.

I smiled as I started writing.

_I was in my Room, the main building given to each member of the Elite Four. We had other rooms, of course, but the Room was where we took on challengers wishing to claim the Championship..._

...

Wow, so I finally finished. Lots of love to those who've stuck around, especially since this started as nothing more than random urge to write about Shauntal, and is now a full story. Chances are, I will probably come back and write something else in a little while, because I can't let these two go. I adore them too much. Plus, I've sort of been hinting at a third-person companion piece from Grimsley, so I might start working on that again.

Special thanks to my beta Sweet but Psycho, for "grinning like an idiot" while she was proofreading everything. Your comments made –me- snicker.

Okay, well, I don't have anything left to say. Until next time!

-Aerococonut


End file.
